Desolate Souls
by SayuriNozomi
Summary: Finally, after all those years, Shizuka can see her brother Hidan again. Despite the Leader's annoying attitude, she feels safe for the first time since ever. Quicker than she expected, however, her past caught up to her. Hidan and Pain find themselves fighting against Father Time in order to save her. A lot of action ;) PainXShizuka (OC) Hope you enjoy!
1. Prolog

**Name**: Shizuka (Hidan's little sister)

**Age**: 23

**Kekkai Genkai:** excellent handling of chackra and blood to heal many diseases

**Abilities: **Chackra shield, which surrounds the body and blocks physical attacks, weak against genjutsus and certain ninjutsus

The sun shone warmly and the birds chirped happily until suddenly bone-shaking cursing made the earth tremble. "Hidan, SHUT UP!" Sasori and Deidara yelled, for once in union. Both searched for the source of noise but couldn't find it. How could they though when the person mentioned was in the Leader's office. Pain rolled his eyes, showing his fading patience. "What's your problem this time?" he asked the Jashinist, having a hard time keeping is voice calm. Since Hidan was too busy swearing, Kakuzu answered in his stead. "That is his sister." He pointed at the picture laying on top of the information the leader had just passed on to them for their next mission. Pain blinked a few times, trying to compare the picture with Hidan. She had blond layered hair, which reached a little under her shoulder blade. Her green eyes seemed to glare at the photographer. "She does not look a bit like Hidan. Are you sure that we are not talking about Deidara's sister here?" The swearing stopped abruptly as Hidan stared at the Leader. "Are you fucking blind or simply retarded?! Does she look to you like a Barbie? No, she does not!" Hidan replied disgustedly. It almost seemed as if Pain had insulted Hidan himself. Kakuzu sighed extremely annoyed and quickly took the info sheets out of the Leader's hands. "I will not kill her!" Pain's eyes were fixed on Hidan. Even Kakuzu seemed a little surprised by his partner's stubbornness on this case. "That might be a problem." Pain said without a single expression crossing his face. "It seems like you will be granted a solo mission, Kakuzu." Hidan's eyes widened before fixing on the Leader. "You would not dare! You cannot do this!" Pain's eyes transformed into slits and now his face had a threatening expression, which of course did not really affect Hidan. "Watch it, Hidan, don't YOU dare to tell me what I can and what I cannot do. Recently, this girl has been behaving rather suspiciously and that attracted my attention. For the first time in a few years she changed her habit and has been staying for a longer period around Kirigakure…" He was rudely interrupted as Hidan, tightening his fists, yelled: "What motherfucking habits for God's sake?!" "There have been reports stating that usually she appears out of the dark and disappears after two days without leaving any traces. But the first thing she does is visiting the local hospital. This time however she seems to have been staying in Kiri's and some close by hospitals for a little more than two weeks and that's odd. I do not accept any spies." Pain added threatening. Hidan turned around and stomped angrily towards the door. Before smashing it, he growled loudly: "Damn paranoid idiot!" The door closed with an ear-crashing boom and almost fell out of its angles. Pain threw the door a fierce glance. "I congratulate you, Kakuzu, you just won the jackpot: A quiet mission without Hidan and most likely a high bounty." A short nod and Kakuzu left the office.

"Hey retard, I am leaving… now!" Kakuzu mentioned and emphasized for once the last part of the sentence. Hidan sat up straight and spat at him: "Hey, you brain fried motherfucker, I recall saying that I will not kill her! Are you fucking deaf like our f…" He stopped and finally understood Kakuzu's clue. "I am going to wait outside." Kakuzu meant annoyed by his partner's obvious stupidity and by his own kindness.

20 minutes later, they were on their way running through the woods to Kirigakure. ‚What makes her stay in Kirigakure for so long? Why does she keep visiting the hospitals?' Not finding any answers, Hidan was close to turning mad. He forced himself to speed up. Except for a few curses and threatening, their journey passed by rather quietly. Apart from being totally pleased with the silence, the bounty hunter was surprised seeing his partner being so quiet. Hidan actually seemed to be lost in thoughts. Kakuzu himself felt a certain tickle of anticipation. According to the data, the girl had been working as a bounty hunter for a few times. Peculiar was though there seemed to be a big difference between her preys and their bounties. Neither he, nor Pain or Itachi had been able to rank the girl's abilities. All in all, except for her appearance and a few unimportant facts, her true abilities were still hidden. That and Hidan's outstanding behavior were most likely to be the reason for his anticipation and his satisfaction.


	2. Chapter 1

Thanks to their long grey cloaks, which seemed to definitely be in trend in Kirigakure, the arrival of the two Akatsuki members remained unseen. Voluntarily, Hidan took on the task of going into the hospital and making inquiries about his sister. His simple argument was: "I catch less unwanted attention than you, scar face." Strangely enough, this poor insult restored a certain feeling of normality for Kakuzu. A few minutes later Hidan returned and shook, almost unnoticeable, his head. Kakuzu rolled his eyes. "So where is she then?" "That bitch only told me that our girl seems to be in one of the nearby villages but she is not entirely sure. Apparently she left this morning. We must have just missed her." Briefly they agreed on a meeting point before separating to do some research on the girl's whereabouts and abilities. Of course, using their striking politeness only…

_The afternoon went by slowly. On hot days like this one, the usually cool humid air transformed into a heavy cage, which made the breathing even more difficult. Relieved she stepped back and wiped the sweat from her forehead. The boy relaxed and now lay peacefully on the bed. "Here, Shizuka." An older lady handed her a towel and pointed at the bloody hands of the girl. Thankfully Shizuka took the towel which turned red with all the blood in a matter of heartbeats. _

As agreed the two men returned shortly before sunset to their meeting point. Judging from afar, Kakuzu knew that he had been more successful than Hidan, who seemed pissed off. "So?" "She appears to be in a smaller village about half an hour north. We could reach it before full sunset if we hurry." Without another word Kakuzu turned around and set off. Surprised by Kakuzu's hurry, Hidan followed quickly after.

_She would have preferred to keep standing under the hot stream of water. She longed for the feeling of purity she once had. However, she was aware of the truth. She would never be able to clean her hands of all that blood ever again. Sighing she sat down on the guesthouse's bed. She wondered what the Sisters would think if they knew how her treatment worked. No one had ever been allowed to see her healing abilities except for one person… Again she sighed… Soon she would have to move on…_

Being dazzled by a small silver shining dot, Hidan blinked irritated. His eyes narrowed to slits as he tried to spot anything else through the thick mist. "Over there" Hidan directed Kakuzu's attention to the silver shining spot. Addressed person nodded, surprised by how fast they had reached their destination. Unrecognized they entered the small village through the shabby gate. Again they took separated ways in order to not miss the girl this time.

_No matter what she tried, sleep just wouldn't come to her. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, she stared at the big mirror. Bloodshot dark red eyes countered her look. Her normally almost golden hair had turned black. She noticed the few streaks which had come out of her ponytail. 'Fortunately, nobody can see me like this right now…' Shizuka thought. _

Determined Kakuzu entered the guesthouse, not even bothering to talk to the reception girl. He did not need any keys to open the doors behind which he felt a trained chackra. He could barely stop himself from rolling his eyes as he found out that the guesthouse included 4 levels. Negative report on the ground, first and second floor. Being only a little pissed off (… yeah, right), he violently opened the first door on the third floor.

_Suddenly the door was opened, giving off an impression of being almost unhinged. She was confronted with a completely masked figure whose green eyes were fixed at her, showing the person's confusion. Apparently neither the uninvited guest nor she herself were unsettled by the fact that she was only wearing underwear. For a long moment it was completely silent, both of them being busy with examining each other. Then the tall figure lowered its head, turned around and left, quietly closing the door. 'Weird…' She couldn't get rid of the feeling that that man had been looking for something. Since she wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyway she got up. Putting on a Yukata she threw another look at her reflection. Slowly the black hair and the red eyes began to fade and she noticed the first few golden streaks. Instead of using the door she left through her window, disappearing into the dark night. _

Confused Kakuzu closed the door. The chackra had been… different. Only as he had ripped open the door, he had noticed her emanating chackra. But the description and the picture were definitely different from the young, slightly too skinny woman he had seen in the room. Shaking his head he ticked off the rest of the rooms on this floor as too weak and turned his attention to the last floor of this guesthouse.

_„__Are you sure that you don't want to wait until tomorrow, Shizuka-san?" The nun asked with an uncertain smile. Encouragingly, the young woman smiled and entered the house. Being greeted by a strong smell of decay, she fought back the choking impulse and approached the bed. The former shinobi lay motionless on the bloody bed. Sadly she observed her wrists which were scarred by fresh cuts. She hadn't had the perseverance to hang on to her life. Shizuka lowered her head and closed the woman's eyes. She was too late. _

This time it obviously was Hidan who had been successful and not Kakuzu. "According to the Sisters she will be leaving tomorrow evening at the earliest since there are way too many patients." "Patients?" Kakuzu asked. Hidan nodded thoughtful. "There appears to be a disease which is carrying off many of those idiots in Kiri and the nearby villages." "Anyway, we still don't know about the girl's connection with the disease. " Hidan grinned arrogantly. "What?" Kakuzu asked irritated. He didn't feel like one of Hidan's power games. "There is something else you should probably know about…" Kakuzu raised his eyebrow while Hidan looked straight at him. "I didn't want the Leader to know about this but Shizuka, my sister, has incredible healing abilities by using her own blood. While I use my blood to take control over people and kill them, she uses hers to heal. She hates to control people like puppets and simply prefers to fight with her won strength. Back then she refused to join the training. Anyways, if she were to burn out herself, her appearance might change…" Overwhelmed by the fact that Hidan had actually provided so much of information without a single swearing word Kakuzu simply nodded. "Usually her hair turns black, her eyes dark red and she might look exhausted… Sounds like a cliché but unfortunately it's true. She never liked it either…" He grinned again, remembering her pissed off face whenever he had mocked her with her appearance. "F*CK!" Kakuzu spat through his teeth. This time it was Hidan who threw his partner a surprised look. "I saw her… in one of the guesthouses… Damn, I knew her chackra was different! Why didn't you tell me about her beforehand?!" "Well, where did she go?" Hidan asked excited, completely ignoring Kakuzu's attitude. "How am I supposed to know? It's not like I asked her!"

_"__I am sorry that I had you help me out." Shizuka apologized embarrassed to the Sister. "Don't mention it. We already owe you so much. You have saved so many lives in the past weeks." "Unfortunately, not all of them…" Shizuka added quietly. She had tested the woman's blood and had detected the disease as cause of death. She must have been dead for a few days which would explain the decay of the corpse. "I am sure that soon we will be free of that plague. God's intentions are unpredictable for us. Who knows, perhaps this disease and your intervention will have an effect on your future." The old lady replied smiling. Shizuka bowed thankfully and left, hoping her next patient would be livelier than this one was. _

"What the fucking hell?! There is no way this shitty village could be any smaller and still we cannot fucking find her!" grumbled Hidan noisy. They had been searching for close to half an hour now. But each time they asked somebody for information they were either met by mistrust or ignorance. The bounty hunter's patience began to decrease as well. Not that he ever had much to begin with… They paced through an empty street when they suddenly heard loud voices, coming from one of the nearby houses. Suspiciously they approached it…

_"__Hurry! He will bleed to death!" the sister yelled. "He will not." Shizuka replied calmly. "Everything is under control. I request you leave this room, please, Sister. This is not meant to be seen by anyone." She nodded in the direction of the door. The young sister, however, was about to lose her mind. "Oh my lord, please save this poor man's life and banish the monster trying to take it away." The hysteria of the young one called the attention of two older sisters, who entered the room. Whereas one of them fainted at the sight of Shizuka's figure, the other one managed to keep her senses. "What on earth are you doing, Shizuka-san?" Shizuka cursed inside. After all, no one had ever seen her healing… Noticing that her patient's blood pressure was sinking rapidly and the microorganisms were spreading faster now, she turned her full attention towards him. "Leave this room immediately if you care about this man's life, Sisters! Right now I do not have any time to waste on your hysteria!" Her voice had become louder and more threatening. _

Hidan opened the door and entered the house regardless of any consequences. He followed the noise and the excited conversation. At the sound of her voice his heart almost stopped. That was her. He destroyed the door with a single fist. He saw himself confronted with two older and one young sister who did not interest him though. His eyes fixed on a young blood-soaked woman who was bending over the bed and seemed to not have noticed him yet. Or she simply ignored him. "Shizuka…" he said calmly. He observed how her movements stopped to turn towards him. "Nii-san… Really?" Her dark red eyes shimmered surprised. He quickly stepped towards her and wrapped his arms around her. "It's been quite long, hmm…" She tried to put a little distance between them. "Nii-san, I am covered in blood and in the middle of a treatment!" She turned back to her patient, puttered around for a few more minutes before closing the man's wounds and then finally finishing up the treatment. She exhaled obviously relieved. "You do know that I don't care about blood." Gently, Hidan brushed the black hair out of her face since her hands were still drenched in blood. Uninvolved, Kakuzu waited at the door. Only now Shizuka remembered the nuns. Quickly she stepped towards the paralyzed women. Her hands hurtled towards the temples of the conscious ones. Before realizing what was happening to them, Shizuka had already pulled back and put a little distance between her and the two. Confused they blinked. "What happened?" "How is the patient?" the older woman asked concerned. Shizuka nodded smiling. "Everything is fine. He should rest next week and at the earliest start working in a month." She added with emphasis. Hidan grinned widely. Kakuzu was aware of what had just happened. "What is wrong with Sister Ama?" the young one worried. "She passed out. I guess she didn't rest enough in the past days and was too concerned about our patients' well-being… Cherishing her commitment." Shizuka kneed down next to the unconscious sister and carefully went with her hand from the cheek to the temple where she stopped for an instant before getting back up. "If you would excuse me now, honored sisters, I will retire for today. Tomorrow I will review the patients' states one last time before departing. I am sure that this plague will end soon. I admire your strong will, Sisters." She said smiling. 'That should be enough.' She added to herself. Slowly she pushed Hidan and Kakuzu to the exit. With a little bow she closed the door.


	3. Chapter 2

Her black hair started to regain some gloss and the usual sharp sparkling returned to her eyes. As soon as they had left the house and the whole village behind, she turned around and jumped into Hidan's welcoming arms. Kakuzu, who seemed quite confused, had definitely not expected something like this. "Nii-san", she whispered happily. "My little princess" Hidan smiled. Now Kakuzu's jaw actually dropped for a second. Yes, it was obvious that Hidan's behavior changed concerning his sister but this was just… too much! "What are you doing here anyway?" Shizuka asked her brother, loosening their embrace. "I could ask you the same", he replied. "What do you have to do with this epidemic?" Slightly blushing, she answered: "I was searching for you. And the easiest way is to visit hospitals looking for your victims… I was hoping to find some kind of a clue. And now you found me." She grinned contently. "Well… whether you believe it or not, the very reason I found you, IS that you were in all those hospitals and for the first time in years stayed longer in one place. Although you will not like the reason for which I am here now." Her eyebrow rose skeptically. "What is this about?" "I was sent to kill you." Kakuzu entered the conversation. Shizuka's attitude changed immediately. The just received information was processed. "Your leader? Does he seriously see me as a threat to your organization?" The still skeptic expression on her face showed how unbelievable that sounded. Kakuzu and Hidan nodded confirming her thoughts. "That is exactly the problem. Don't ask me, how he came up with …" One look seemed to be enough to make Hidan swallow his curses again. "…Well, anyway, I don't know how the leader came up with that idea." 'So he is actually able to form sentences without curse words' Kakuzu noticed. 'How long must it have taken her to get him like that? Well, it might just be her influence… Unfortunately, that would not change their everyday life and Hidan would stay the annoying way he was…' Kakuzu kept on trying to find ways to either get rid of Hidan or to at least shut him down even without his sister around. Meanwhile, Hidan gave Shizuka an account of the mission given to them by their leader and his explanations, pointing out very clearly that they would of course not harm her in any way. She shook her head, interrupting him. "But how do you plan on explaining the fact that I am alive to your leader? I have known you long enough, Nii-san, to know that you probably still haven't thought about that at all, right?" Knowing his sister had a good point, Hidan turned away sulking like a little child. "I, however, have already thought about it." The siblings turned to look at Kakuzu. "If she really is as good as you keep on claiming, Hidan, the leader might just accept her. You know he has a weakness for extraordinary abilities." After having examined Kakuzu for a few seconds, Shizuka turned back to Hidan. "What are you claiming? Please tell me that you did not tell the members about me!" Vehemently he shook his head. "No, only…" "…me." Kakuzu finished the sentence. "I am the only one knowing of your existence until the leader found out about you. Well, actually Hidan told him in a way but anyway… I did not know about your influence on your brother…" The last part was said in such a low voice that Shizuka wasn't exactly sure if she had understood it right but she didn't care enough to ask anyway. Her eyes stayed on Kakuzu, looking him over carefully. "It was a good choice to pair you two up." She declared. Although the objection lay already on Hidan's tongue, he swallowed the insulting reply back down, shaking his head. Shizuka stopped when they passed by a little stream and bent down to wash her dirty hands. Without words she took off her former white shirt and tried to wash out most of the blood. Her black jeans did not show many blood stains so she decided to just keep them on. Anxiety appeared in Hidan's eyes as he recognized the old scars all over her body. Refusing the training of a Jashinist from the very beginning, she had often been used as a test object. Little cuts were all over her body. Some of them so old that they had faded, some of them so deep that they had never really healed. Hidan noticed Kakuzu's effort to not stare. He did not really succeed in his effort though. Not being able to hold back anymore, the Jashinist grabbed Kakuzu's arm and pulled him back roughly. "What was that about self-control, you old bastard?!" Kakuzu reacted slowly, breaking away from Hidan's grip. Before disappearing into the woods, he murmured: "I'll be going on ahead."Shizuka had watched the incident quietly, having decided not to interfere. She was aware of how much the sight of her scars hurt her brother. She herself had come to accept the fact rather quickly that she would be branded for her life. 'I would rather be branded with such small scars on my body than having to accept such a sick training' she had told herself at that time. And she would do it the exact same way again. Quickly, she cleaned her hands, splashed a little water in her face and then put her now rather see-through top back on. As she turned to follow Kakuzu, Hidan snorted indignant and threw his cloak around her shoulders. Smiling at him gratefully, they followed Kakuzu into the woods.

The rest of the journey passed by quickly. Since Hidan voluntarily resigned any sacrifices, they rarely stopped and refrained from staying anywhere overnight. The bigger the distance to Kirigakure, the stronger Shizuka's remorse grew. Was the epidemic over? Would there be even more victims? She knew that the number of concerned had gone back. Nevertheless, was a relapse really impossible? "Hey Princess" Hidan's call woke her from her worries. Instinctively, she stopped. She looked forward and into a dark abyss right in front of her feet. "Hey, how dare you warning me NOW when my next step would have been my last?!" she snapped at her brother. "At least I did tell you. I could have waited, too, you know. Then Kakuzu would have finally believed me that your body is almost indestructible because of your chackra shield!" he replied grinning satisfied. She exhaled annoyed and followed Kakuzu, who had not even stopped to watch the spectacular. Sulking, Hidan went behind her. Almost half an hour later, Kakuzu suddenly stopped, taking out a blindfold. "We are getting closer to the hideout." Hidan took the piece of cloth and put it gently over her eyes. Hand in hand the siblings went on. Kakuzu had mentally stopped trying to understand their relationship…

"I hate to wait." "Tobi wants to make cookies, together with Deidara-senpai!" "The only thing, I want to do with you, is to fucking blow you up!" The blond replied in a very pissed manner. "Silence, we are complete." Pain said with a threatening voice as Kisame and Itachi entered the cave. "I see that you have not accomplished your mission, Kakuzu." The leader meant sarcastically while looking at a rather lively Shizuka, who was held close by Hidan. The blindfold had already been taken off and Hidan was wearing his cloak, which she had given back to him when entering the hideout. Pain felt her sharp green eyes on him. At least that's what he thought. As he took a closer look, he noticed that her eyes were not at all green but dark red and her hair, instead of blond like on the photo, black. Amused he also noticed Hidan's killing glare. "I see in it an offer rather than an unaccomplished mission." Kakuzu answered calmly. It was hard to predict Pain's reaction, even for him. He glanced at Hidan, who immediately stepped forward. "Shizuka has quite a few special abilities." Silence. "So?" Pain asked, obviously bored. "There are a lot of people out there with special abilities." A slight touch of Shizuka's hand made Hidan choke down his reply. "Give me an opponent, please." She answered instead. "Itachi", the leader said, hesitating only for a heartbeat. Inside Hidan and Shizuka cursed. On the outside, only Hidan's face showed his anger. Out of all members, he was the only one to be an actual danger to her: Itachi. All the others fought mostly with Tai- and Ninjutsu. Kakuzu left the arena right away, glancing quickly at Shizuka. Hidan, on the other hand, did absolutely not want to let go of his sister. The way he rated that frosty Uchiha and that asshole of a leader, none of them would stop before she dropped dead on the ground. Her death had been the plan in the very beginning. "Hidan!" the thunder like voice of the leader echoed through the big room. "Have you lost faith in the so called special abilities of the girl?" "Oh shut your hole! You will see!" Hidan shouted in the direction of the audience. Pain ignored the insult. Itachi appeared in the arena the moment Hidan had left it. Immediately, Shizuka's eyes focused on the ground. She was aware that fighting blindly would be her only chance. Taking deep breaths, she blindfolded herself. "Yaaaaaayy, the girl wants to play hide and seek! Tobi wants tooooooo!" it squealed from the audience. "Shut it, Tobi!" Deidara yelled. Then the voices around her were blanked out. Her chackra shield was the only thing she had to concentrate on now. The Uchiha's chackra was right before her inner eye. She admired his calmness. Compared to normal people, whose chackra would flicker continuously, his chackra defined clear pathways without straying from them even a little. Then suddenly, he attacked. He was so fast that even his chackra became blurry. She felt the hard pressure hitting her shield. Itachi took his distance. It seemed to have taken him only one single approach to understand that physical attacks would have no effect on her. She felt the growing power of the Sharingan putting a great mental pressure on her. Hoping that pressure would fade a little as soon as he couldn't follow her anymore, she began to move with high speed. She knew that normal eyes would not be able to follow her anymore. The Sharingan, however, seemed to keep up with her speed.

_"__Mangekyo Sharingan" _Itachi's voice sounded. "Hey! That's enough! If he destabilizes her mentally, we are screwed!" Hidan roared at Pain. "This was her choice. She wanted to fight then she has to live with the consequences." He replied coldly. "You don't fucking get it!" But it was already too late.

She had the impression that somebody was trying to compress her head with all the power he got. "Damn!" she exhaled painfully. She felt the pulse of her shield. In vain, she tried to deactivate it. "Nii-san, get out of here, NOW!" she shouted desperately. Then everything turned black around her. While falling, the blindfold loosened before she hit the cold ground.

The chackra shield around the unconscious girl became visible. The attendant crowd noticed the increasing pressure in the cave. "SHIZUKAAAA!" Hidan ran towards his sister and carefully lifted her up. Once again her hair had lost its glance and looked as weak as her arms hanging down to her sides. "Sorry, but you give me no choice!" The pressure of the shield became almost unbearable. Itachi's hand clenched over his heart. "Hidan, what are you doing?" Pain asked upset. "He is saving our lives." Kakuzu answered calmly. Pain's eyes wandered back to the Immortal and his sister. He saw Hidan strike out and then heard the loud smacking sound as the palm hit the cheek of the unconscious girl. Hurriedly, he put her back on the ground and escaped towards the podium. Not a second too early. The moment she opened her eyes, the already sizzling shield was compressed… and then exploded. A pressure wave destroyed all obstacles in a few meters perimeter. The podium was almost completely saved. Hidan looked down and tried to spot his sister in the cloud of dust. Finally, the cloud dissolved. The girl had sat up and held her obviously aching head. "I am so sorry, Nii-san…" she whispered. Before Hidan could embrace her, Pain had lifted her up single-handedly. Violently he crushed her into the wall. "What was that?" "You mother fucking son of a bitch! Let her go!" Hidan shouted. The next moment he found himself trapped by Konan. Shizuka's eyes narrowed. Because of her mental destabilization, the chackra shield would not be able to protect her. "That is none of your business!" She clenched as his hand tightened around her throat and he pushed her harder against the wall. "Well, it seems to BE my business and right now your life depends on it." He spoke slowly, emphasizing every word. Without blinking, they looked each other in the eyes. Her red hit his grey. "Let her down! How the fuck is she supposed to say anything if she can't even breathe, you moron?!" Hidan was furious. Hesitantly, Pain's hand loosened around her neck. Yet only so far that she could breathe almost normally but her feet would still hand above the ground. Her eyes began to sparkle again as her power slowly returned to her although it would probably take a few more days until she would be completely normal again. She turned her head slightly to spat on the ground. "I am not going to tell you shit." Although her eyes were furious with anger, her voice sounded surprisingly calm. Now seriously pissed himself, the leader's grip tightened again. The wall gave in little by little because of the pressure emitting from Pain. "Shizuka, stop that shit! Who cares if he knows or not! Stop being so stubborn all the time!" "Shut up, Hidan!" Her eyes were still fixed on Pain's. "I request another opponent." "And what are you hoping for? Another defeat? This one was already laughable enough, don't you think? Your appearance is rather ridiculous, too." Pain taunted. Suddenly he felt a prickle on his hand. A chackra blow hit him straight on his chest and sent him flying. Not expecting an attack, he had not been able protect himself in any way. In a matter of seconds, she chased him and sat down on his chest, pressing him down. Her knees fixed his arms on the ground; a kunai lay at his throat. "Don't you dare to speak in that disdainful way to me again!" she spat, her eyes flaring in anger. Her voice shivered just like her forefinger, which was pointed like a gun at his forehead. "Don't you think, it's enough?" Kakuzu asked, his voice echoing throughout the cave. "There is absolutely no point in making her fight in her current state." He added. Nodding Konan agreed to that statement. Pain had to force himself to break away from her eyes. "For now." He meant. Clanking the kunai fell on the ground. Her hands pressed on her temples, trying desperately to chase away the terrible pictures in her head. She breathed heavily. "So the Mangekyo does work…" Itachi observed. Hidan broke free from Konan's Jutsu and ran towards her. He caught her before she would fall on the leader since she was still sitting on top of him. While hurrying towards the door, he barked: "Come one, Uchiha, get your ass moving! This is your fault after all!" For a second, Itachi hesitated. As Pain nodded, he followed the Immortal to his room.


	4. Chapter 3

2 weeks later, Shizuka opened the door with her own hands for the first time. Hidan had not allowed anybody to enter the room except for Itachi and Kakuzu and had forbidden her to leave it in her weak state. Surprisingly, Pain had actually kept his distance to that room. The look at the mirror was finally worth it this morning. Shizuka's hair was back to their caramel gold and her eyes regained their sharp green. Although she did not know the HQ at all, she set out to look for the dining room. She had hoped for her brother to rest now but at the time she woke up, he had already left the room. The dark circles around his eyes were more than worrying. A smile appeared on her face as she thought of her big brother. "Since when are you free to walk around alone? Has your 'brother' let you from his leash?" Pain emerged from the shadows of a torch, which seemed to be the only source of light in this dark hallway. Immediately, the smile disappeared from her lips and anger arose in her eyes. He already HAD made her dislike him to a great extent, having treated her in a dismissive manner. Now he even had the boldness to insult her loving brother. Her chackra was boiling, making her shield sizzling and pulsing unregularly. She noticed surprise in his eyes, probably because of her quick change in mood. "Leave Nii-san out of this. Do you treat everyone like this?" As fast as lightning, he had grabbed her hands and nailed her at the wall. "How am I supposed to treat you?" he whispered in her ear. "I cannot remember you showing me that you deserve any other way." Ineffectively, she tried to break away from him. It didn't hurt her. However, the thought of him touching her as he pleased disgusted her. 'Change of strategy' she thought, staring in his eyes. "Do you remember what happened to you last time you nailed me down like this?" She concentrated her chackra and gave him a slight taste of the kick she was about to give him. He only grinned. "Do it. What are you waiting for?" Irritated, she released more chackra than she had planned to. Instead of being sent flying, Pain's face came closer. "Well, that didn't work… What a pity, and here I had so high expectations." Again, that dismissive tone in his voice. She acted instinctively. Lunging forward, her head crashed on his nose. He staggered backwards while holding his broken nose. A heartbeat later, it began to bleed terribly. Shizuka took her distance right away and ran to the dining room. She couldn't stop herself from grinning: 'It's his fault for treating people like that.'

Arriving at the dining room, she slammed the door shut. "Shizuka!" With the speed of lightning Hidan stood up straight. "Are you alright?" Feeling the eyes of the others resting on her, Shizuka simply nodded. She had never liked big crowds of people. Hidan bent down to her as she quietly whispered into his ears: "There is a high possibility that we might get an unpleasant guest anytime soon…" A second later, the door was smashed to pieces and a rather angry looking Pain entered the room. Kakuzu sighed at the sight. All of them knew that Shizuka and the Leader had collided once again. His brotherly complex forced Hidan to pull Shizuka behind his back. This time, however, she would not give in so easily. Pushing away his hands, she stepped forward. "Oh, I think I can see a dark spot on your nose. Does it at least hurt a lot?" "How dare you…" Pain's eyes became little slits. She wasn't done yet for long. She would not let him treat her brother or herself in a dismissive manner ever again. "Oh, you mean how I dare to break your nose? First, you have to admit that it is a proof of my skills to be able to break your pierced nose. Secondly, I could ask you the exact same thing: How dare you to treat other people in such an arrogant manner?" Soothingly, Hidan put his hand on Shizuka's shoulder. "Come on, Shizuka, leave it be." Determined she shook it off. "You think he will just leave it at that? It's already too late to pull out. You know I would never have backed off anyway, Nii-san." She kissed him on the cheek. Worried, Hidan returned the touch. Most of the members were stupefied, except for Kakuzu, Itachi and Sasori. Since Kakuzu had already travelled with the two, he knew of their close relationship. As for Itachi and Sasori, they were simply able to hide their surprise. "Hey, if you want to fight, then go to the arena. I don't care if it's the leader or not. None of you have an idea of how expensive a kitchen and a dining room can be." Kakuzu pointed into the direction of the fighting area. Shizuka grinned and disappeared with a long lasting "Hai, Haaaaaiiiiii" out of the room without looking at Pain even once. The Leader had regained control of his emotions and tried to think of the best way to demonstrate his power. He would not just approve of her humiliating him in front of all the other members. With a threatening aura he followed her into the arena and positioned himself opposite to her. "Yay, Shizuka-chan is going to fight again! Can Tobi join the game this time?" "Shizuka-chan will not play this time, Tobi, I am sorry." Shizuka answered smiling. "Pain, is this really necessary?" Astonished, most of the members turned around to look at Itachi. Nobody had expected him to interfere. He was not in the mood to justify his decisions so Pain skipped an answer. "Hey guys", the attention of the members turned to Zetsu, whose upper body had emerged from the wall of the cave. "We're getting guests. Three dozen of Shinobi from Otogakure. Orochimaru seems to be sniffing around again." Irritated Pain grimaced. Was it not even possible to fight out a duel? "Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori, Deidara, this will be your job. Go." Named ones nodded, all except for Hidan. "Are you serious? You think I would leave her alone with you knowing that you are the most interested in seeing her dead?! Are you fucking kidding me?!" A heartbeat later, Shizuka stood in front of her brother. 'She seems faster than before' the thought shot through Pain's mind. "Do not worry, Nii-san, Kakuzu may put my pieces back together if for once you asked him nicely." "Don't you dare to even imagine that time, understood?!" Hidan countered upset. His lips swiftly touched hers before he hesitantly followed his team mates outside.

Smilingly, Shizuka's eyes rested on her brother. It was obvious how worried he was, kissing her on her lips in front of everybody else. This kiss had always been a secret good luck charm. They had used it very rarely. 'Sorry, Nii-san, but I never expected a victory to begin with. I am well aware of the fact that your Leader is way stronger than I am. And you know that, too.' She turned, facing Pain. Swallowing her anger and pushing it into the depths of her mind, there now was a complete calmness inside of her. Keeping that exact calm, made her chackra grow with each and every second that passed. She spread the energy evenly into her body, sending most of it though into her legs. The agility and the speed she would gain would definitely be needed. "So, are you not going to attack? You, who is always going on about me treating you and your brother dismissively. Not like you deserved any different." Pain's voice was calm. His attempt to provoke her had no effect at all. "I got time." She said quietly. The longer he waited, the more time she had to absorb chackra from her surroundings. 'Her aura keeps changing with each second. Something does not seem right.' Pain's mind searched intensely for possible explanations. It frustrated him not to be able to see through a person. That was one of the reasons why her sudden appearance in the hospitals had picked his interest. No matter how often he asked Zetsu to get information about her, he was never satisfied. "What are you waiting for?" Her voice woke him from his thoughts. Confusion appeared on Pain's face. "Didn't I humiliate you in front of all the others?" Her eyes' green was radiant and her hair shimmered golden. The power emitting from her was enormous and for a second it almost overwhelmed him. Suddenly, she was right in front of him. Before realizing what was happening, her fist hit his stomach. The impact sent him flying and even the wall crumbled under the force. The whole cave seemed to shiver for a moment. A few lumps of rock crashed from the ceiling into the arena. The fragments threatened to crush her but were stopped about a meter from her body. At the time of the impact the chackra shield became visible. It cracked golden and made dust out of the rock fragments. Noticing that the chackra she had spent just now was already recovered pleased her immensely. Her eyes searched the area where Pain had collided with the wall. First thing she saw were the Rin'negan eyes of the leader, staring at her. Not letting his eyes sway away from her, he stood up. 'That just might have been one of the hardest hits I have taken so far.' He forced himself to keep his hand away from his revolting stomach. Instead he put his right hand forward. It was his turn now. Suddenly, Shizuka felt a power pulling on her. Like a magnet she flew towards Pain. Before she was close enough to attack him, she was pushed back. Despite her chackra shield she felt the power, compressing her body. Like him before, she was sent crashing into the wall. This crater, however, was a whole lot deeper than the one from before. Then she began to attack Pain at a speed that normal eyes could no longer follow. Only Itachi was able to follow all of her moves. Pain's perception of her movements was blurred and thus made it hard for him to dodge. Although her hits were rather weak, they came from all sides at a high speed causing him quite a bit of damage. A steel bar slid out of his right sleeve. Irritated, he began to turn himself rapidly around his center. The moment he felt an impact of the bar, he was thrown backwards. Without struggle, he landed secure on his two feet. His face had regained its motionless expression. He looked down at his sleeve only to see the steel bar turning to dust. Sighing, he lifted his head. A great deal of energy was still emitting from her body. Self-content appeared in Pain's eyes. His next attack would not go easy on her. Not in the mood to wait for her opponent, Shizuka began to move swiftly through the arena in order to avoid getting hit. The threatening chackra of the leader unsettled her. It felt like a lurking monster, staying in the darkness and waiting for her to make a single mistake. Even without looking at Pain, even though he did not say a single thing… His presence was threatening and somehow… distant. She was not able to examine his chackra any further instead she got the feeling of a barrier around him. Resembling a flash, Shizuka was moving through the arena while Pain prepared calmly his next jutsu. 'Tire yourself out, little one, I don't care', he thought shrugging. He concentrated his chackra and slowly formed the signs. 'Rabbit, Monkey, Dragon, Snake, Ti…' "Pain" At the sound of Zetsu's urgent voice Pain twitched inside. That was unexpected. "We got a problem" the plant added without waiting for the reaction of the Leader. "The Oto-nins have poisonous capsules which were activated during the battle. Apparently it was a suicide mission. Hidan, Kakuzu and Deidara went down by the poison. Sasori's puppets are fully destroyed and he himself is down, too." Pain's eyes narrowed. "How did that happen?" "The Oto-nins had already put the poison into the air before the others arrived. It seems like the even used senbons, empoisoned with it. Before losing consciousness, Sasori meant that it has to be one of the rarest and deadliest poisons out there." "Are there any survivors?" Zetsu black grinned evil. "Expect the one's on our side, no." He turned towards Shizuka."Hidan told me to come and get you." The girl nodded and disappeared in an instant. 'One can't even fight out a duel nowadays.' The thought upset Pain. Promptly, he followed the young woman outside. He himself was alarmed that four members have been taken out so easily.


	5. Chapter 4

"Nii-san!" Shizuka shouted, frightened at the sight of her brother. His appearance made her shiver in fear for him. Never before had she seen her brother like that. Not even during their training he had ever looked like that. His cloak was torn to pieces. Blisters covered his whole body. A big dark spot had appeared above his heart. In the middle pranked a white seal. Scanning the area around her, she found Kakuzu and Deidara in the same state. Only the red-haired puppet master lay a little distant from the others in a rather unnatural position, next to him his crushed puppets. One second later, Pain had entered the fight's area. Worried, Shizuka kneeled down next to her brother and gently touched his cheek. "Nii-san, wake up!" No reaction. She slapped him slightly, with no effect. Gritting her teeth, she took a closer look at the seal. As she was about start her examination, cold metal touched her neck. "There is no point and you know that, too" She said calmly to Pain. Her balance still lasted, so did her chackra. "What do you plan on doing?" he replied, a tone of distrust swinging in his voice. "I am going to test the blood of the injured, try to extract the poison and to loosen or fully break the seal. There is not much time. Somebody will have to take care of Sasori. If I am not able to cure the intoxication, he will be their last hope." Before Pain had the time to reply anything, she added: "We have less than an hour. After that we can just continue from where we left off." Her brightly shining eyes fixed on his grey ones. Surprisingly, there was no anger or desperation in them. Gently, her eyes asked for sympathy and his answered. Thanking him without words, she turned to begin with the treatment. Pain had to blink. 'What was that? What just happened?' The Leader banned all questions for now and focused on her work. Taking a deep breath, Shizuka swiftly took out a small, ornamented silver dagger and made two clean cuts in her palm. As her bleeding hands swept over Hidan's upper body, a thin golden sphere appeared, coating the places she had already touched. Concentration marked her face. She had closed her eyes in order to blend out any distractions. Silently, Pain waved at Konan, signalizing her to treat Sasori as quick as possible. Konan nodded and turned to the puppet master who had not yet awakened from his unconsciousness. As Pain returned his attention to Shizuka, she was already working at the seal. Her eyes were now fixed on Hidan's chest and her hands floating over it. While her hands were drawing invisible signs, the golden sphere pulsed intensively above the white seal. Although Pain had followed each and every one of her movements, he jumped at the sudden detonation. Not able to withstand the blast, the young woman was thrown back and caught by the Leader's arms, her former enemy. She carefully touched her pounding ears and quickly thanked him. The hostility from their earlier duel had completely vanished. "There's no helping it. I will have to start with the poisoned blood, weakening its concentration as much as possible and then immediately breaking the seal." It was obvious how much she disliked this method. "I am going to start with Deidara's treatment." Pain shot her a surprised glance. "Why?" "Nii-san is immortal. Even this poison will only paralyze him for the beginning. The deadly effect is not going to kick in until later. Well… at least later than for the other two…" she added quietly. "And as far as I know, Kakuzu is not easy to kill either." The smile failed to impress Pain. Silently she walked over to Deidara and took a few deep breaths before beginning the treatment. Blood kept dripping from her palms and landed with a sizzling sound on Deidara's upper body. Pain tried to watch the process closely but somehow everything seemed to be blurred. Nevertheless, he felt how the air around Shizuka tensed from the high amount of chackra. He had never seen such highly concentrated chackra in such a short amount of time. While watching the blood, he noticed that first of all, there was way too much blood coming out of those two little cuts and secondly, the blood seemed to be absorbed by Deidara's body. Slowly, the golden sphere began to get darker until it eventually turned pitch-black. Shizuka's hands had not ceased to move once. Instead she had been forming signs in fluent motion until suddenly she stopped. Her palms were turned downside and slowly she led the black sphere away from Deidara's upper body. As soon as the distance to her patient's body seemed to be far enough, the tension from her hands disappeared. The black sphere hovered for a few more moments above the ground before it fell and changed into a liquid. Looking back at Deidara, she cursed at the quick spread of the poison. A low "Damn it!" escaped her tight lips. "What is it?" Pain asked. He didn't receive an answer. This was a situation he hadn't encountered ever before. Usually, he knew about everything that was going on but her abilities were completely new to him. He had never seen something comparable. 'Deducing from her movements, she must be about to break the seal.' He thought, watching her closely. She had put her hands on the seal. Then leaning forward, she pressed down with all of her weight. Although her lips were moving, Pain couldn't hear a single sound. A heartbeat later, golden translucent ribbons shot out of the seal, hindering Pain from approaching. Konan tapped on his shoulder and pointed at Sasori who seemed to be somewhat accessible. Hesitant, Pain threw a last glance at Shizuka, before going to Sasori. Meanwhile, Shizuka increased the pressure on the seal until the resistance suddenly disappeared and she broke through. The golden ribbons vanished with a high but clear sound. Immediately, the young woman tried to stop the pressure to not hurt Deidara's chest. The heads of the other members spun around. Shizuka took a short breath and got up. Slowly, she walked to Kakuzu, using the break to regain her inner balance. Then she began with the next treatment. She was aware that time was running out, quicker than she had hoped it would. While creating the golden sphere and preparing the detox, Deidara got up. Instantly, Konan was at his side, steadying him. "Not so hasty." Pain said. "You just returned from the dead…" The eyes of the blond one were glassy. Shivering and without any real power he gripped Konan's shoulder to not fall over. "I think I'm going to be sick, un…" Hiding his relief, Pain turned to Sasori who had sat up. "That's the situation: We have three patients with intoxications." The leader looked at Deidara who seemed to get better in Konan's arms. "Correcting, there are only two poisoned and you, who is wounded. First of all, what caused such a defeat? And second, of how extent are your injuries?" Sasori's weak grin calmed Pain's inner concern. Apparently, the wounds weren't as bad as they might have looked like in the beginning. Tensed, he looked over to Shizuka, leaning above Kakuzu's motionless body and extracting the poison. The sphere was even blacker than the one from before and it seemed to take her considerably longer. "Zetsu's prediction wasn't quite accurate anymore. When we reached the destination, the group had already tripled. Also, the air had been laced with poison gas. Deidara, that blasting idiot, even spread it more with his first explosion. I didn't notice it fast enough. Those bastards broke most of my limbs. They probably have no idea how long it takes to put all those parts back together!" Pain nodded absent-minded, his eyes still fixed on the young woman. The black sphere had not stopped growing yet. "Is it possible for you to create an antidote for the poison within an hour?" he asked Sasori. "No." It was a short and very clear answer. "On long-term yes, but not within such a short amount of time, without my materials and in my current state." A loud splash sounded as the black shirring sphere impacted on the ground as the same black liquid as before. The golden ribbons pulsed, emitting warm light. "What is that?" Sasori asked confused. "Hidan's sister is being useful. First Deidara and at the moment she is busy with Kakuzu. It seems that she cleans the blood and then breaks the seal." The high tone signalized the end of the treatment. The ribbons dissolved. Shizuka's hands avoided quickly Kakuzu's chest and instead hit the ground, which gave in to her pressure. Blood was dripping down from her arms. Slowly in- and exhaling, she got up and walked towards her brother. All power seemed to have left her although her hair remained golden. Determined she positioned her hands above the naked chest of her brother. As she prepared the golden sphere, Hidan's hand suddenly gripped her wrist. A frightened sound escaped her. "Nii-san! Don't move! The more you move, the more the blood will circulate the poison! And that will make it even harder for me to extract the poison." "You have to…" A dreadful cough shook the immortal body. "… Leave… You can't… stay…*cough*… FUCK… Get away from here!" With fear in her eyes, Shizuka stared at him. "Nii…-san…?" "Do not… *cough* come back! ... Go as far as you can *cough* and do not… come back!" The usual white part of his eyes had completely turned black which made his magenta eyes stand out even more. Shizuka didn't notice Pain appearing right in front of her. The intensity emitting from Hidan's eyes frightened her. Never before had he sent her away. Never. In order to protect her, he had kept her as close to him as possible. "Leave!" Once again he was shaken by a strong cough. Letting go of her hand, he covered his mouth. Shizuka saw a red liquid running over his fingers. "Not without you" she whispered and kneed down next to him. Gasping, he knocked down her hands. "I told you to go! *cough* LEAVE!" She dodged another hit. Quickly, she had drawn the little dagger and inflicted a small cut on Hidan's forearm. Before he was able to react, her bloody hand was on his wound. "No… damn it" Hidan cursed. His body stiffened and anger emitted from his eyes. "I am going to heal you now. You may complain about it afterwards." Not losing any more time, she created the golden sphere and began to extract the poison. The black sphere darkened even faster than in Kakuzu's case. In a matter of seconds the sphere had turned pitch-black and Shizuka let it splash on the ground. Instead of concentrating on the seal, she built another sphere which didn't darken as fast. 'How much poison can a human body bear?' Pain wondered. "Stop it…" Hidan's voice sounded raspy. He tried to move, tried to stop her from healing him. He wanted to send her away but his body wouldn't move, no matter how hard he tried. Blanking out her surroundings, Shizuka continued with the seal. However, it was worse than she had imagined. The big amount of chackra she had already used began to affect her. Her former inner balance was replaced by desperation and anger at herself. Not to mention, the decreasing concentration marking her face. At the first try, the golden ribbons appeared lingering and were almost completely invisible. Irritated, Shizuka dropped her hands, breaking the tension and started anew. The second try looked much better. The ribbons had gained color as well as power. Just as the young woman was about to exhale relieved and break the seal, she lost control. The golden ribbons burst with a loud detonation and was sent flying. She crashed into Pain, pulling him with her to the ground. Straightening up with an effort, she punched her right furiously in the ground. Grey eyes examined her sharply. "I am sorry…" Without looking at him she went back to Hidan. All fluency had ceased from her movements. She didn't even notice that her hair began to turn red from all the blood. As if praying, she put her palms together. Although her lips moved, Pain still could not understand more than a soft murmuring sound. A golden shine emitted from her hands. Calmly, she opened her eyes and began treating the seal. "No!" Hidan's voice regained its strength and his limbs moved slightly. "Hold him down. He will probably try to stop me." Her tone surprised the leader. It sounded like a command. As the leader of the most powerful group of shinobis in the world, he would not let himself be bossed around by anybody else. But then again, he felt a certain need to follow her order. She was right after all. Without showing any sign of his inner conflict, he held down Hidan's arms and made sure that the immortal would not be able to move his legs either. Not even a heartbeat after he had settled, Hidan rose for his first resistance. He tried to sit up however he was pushed back hard by Pain. "You don't get it, paranoid freak! She has to *cough* get away from her! Any minute, even any second that she stays here longer, will shorten her time to escape!" "And you call me paranoid." Pain meant with a slightly insulting tone. The increasing pressure on his own body made him look up. Coiling up around him, he saw the golden ribbons. 'Great…' "Don't worry, I will finish it off as quickly as possible." Surprise struck his face. Pain could have sworn that he felt her eyes on him. But as he examined her now, she was concentrating with all her being on the treatment, her eyes fixed on the seal. Within a few minutes, the end was close. At the same moment as the high tone sounded over the clearing, Pain let go of Hidan, who immediately shoved away the leader and tightly gripped the wrist of his tired sister. Pain from the tight grip shot across her face but she gazed back at him. "You would have done the same, admit it!" Mad with fury, Hidan replied: "You think this is just a joke?! You think I would send you away if it wasn't serious? You think this is easy for me?" Unable to cope with the current condition of her brother, Shizuka slightly flinched. With a fierce jerk, Hidan pulled her back to him. She gasped at the crack, knowing that her wrist joint had just popped out. Finally, Pain intervened. Without further ado, he cut off Hidan's hand which was clinging to Shizuka. Worn out, the young woman sank to the ground. Cursing loudly, the immortal turned at the leader. Blood ran down from the rest of his arm, dripped to the ground where it mixed with his sister's blood. "FUCK! What the hell is wrong with you, you motherfucking bastard?! Is there a sign on my forehead saying 'Feel free to cut a piece off' or what?" "Hidan…" Shizuka's voice had lost its commanding tone and resembled a weak breeze. A threatening aura emanated from Pain, his eyes became slits. Returning the look without blinking, it was obvious that Hidan was just as furious as his leader. The tension between the two men was almost concrete. No one would have expected Konan at this moment. Paper chattered in the space between the two and manifested in a matter of seconds. Irritated herself, Konan flipped with her fingers until she was sure that both men were paying attention. "First of all: We have a few injured for who's sake we should return to the hideout ASAP. Second: How about you tell us what you're talking about, Hidan? How are we supposed to understand the gravity of the situation if we don't know what's happening?" Confused both men looked at the Kunoichi. Shizuka grinned weakly. "Oh guys, what would you do without Konan…" Hidan turned to his sister. Just as he was trying to pull her up, his own knees gave in. Instantly, she examined him concerned and steadied him. "You won't be able to walk alone yet! It will probably take a few more days until the aftereffects of the poison wear off. Although the treatment is over, I didn't have enough blood to replace your loss… I am sorry…" Hidan sealed her lips with his finger. Pulling Shizuka up, Pain steadied her, trying not to get too close to her. Involuntarily, a little bit of thankfulness arose in Hidan. Implicitly, he let himself be pulled up by Zetsu's clone. In total silence the group returned to the hideout.

Arriving there, they helped the injured to their rooms. Hidan insisted that Shizuka would stay together with him. Although clearly reluctant to the way Hidan conveyed his wish, Pain gave in however only after he had heard Shizuka's weak consent. As soon as the door closed behind the leader, Shizuka crawled under her brother's sheets. They embraced each other tightly, as if they had been apart for years. "What did they want?" Stagnant, the question left her lips. She feared the answer. "Were there only Oto shinobis?" Hidan's jaw tensed, even his grip around her shoulder tightened. "Tell me, what happened, Nii…" "No!" Hidan's loud voice made her flinch. "No…" he repeated quieter and softer. "There weren't only shinobis from Otogakure. But you already knew that. They are looking for that which they have always longed for. Your powers… which will enable them, to awake THEM." Hidan spit out the last sentence. Even the taste of the word caused him nausea. "I don't want you to move too far away from me. It will be better if the others don't know about it, especially not the leader." Hidan looked at her. Her arm lay across his naked chest, her head rested on his shoulder while his arm lay around her body. Outsiders would probably think they're a couple. His eyes wandered to her face. She seemed to be so far away and yet she was lying next to him. Hidan knew that she thought about their past. He could see it in her dim green eyes. "Everything will be fine. I will not let go of you ever again. I made that mistake once and am certainly not going to make it twice. We should probably leave the hideout as soon as possible." Her hand tensed on his chest. "I don't want to live like that again. Not being able to stay. Not being able to sleep calmly. Not being able to live together with somebody. Not being able to stay together with you. Always running away… from my own family!" Defiance entered her voice. Far too long, the young woman had to live in solitude, constantly escaping. Her inner desperately desired a place to stay where she would be accepted and could sleep calmly. "I know how much you hate to move all the time. But you must be aware of the fact that we can impossibly go against the clan all by ourselves! We would be facing a good four dozens of immortals. Priests of Jashin. Not to mention the two high priests. I couldn't bear to see you hurt like that ever again. And if constant escape is the only way to avoid that, then there's no other choice." Hidan could feel the fear and desperation of his sister deep down in himself. Seeing her in that condition hurt him more than any pain he had ever had to bear before. It reminded him of their past, especially their training.

**Flashback**

The sword cut through the air and struck its target hard. The girl struggled against the wall and pressed her tiny hands on her bleeding shoulder. "Shizuka! This cannot go on! You are a disgrace to the whole clan! You would help yourself and your pathetic body if only you could accept your origin!" the man shouted. The power of his voice made the hall quake. "Would you just leave her alone! She has trained enough for today!" the young Hidan intervened. In a protective way, he put his coat around the shivering girl. "This is none of your business, Hidan, so keep out of it! It has absolutely nothing to-" "It does have something to do with me!" he interrupted enraged. "She is my sister!" "And I am her father! Just as I am yours! Last warning: Keep out of it!" Although the older man's voice was now very quiet, it seemed to be a lot more threatening than the voice of the white-haired. Before Hidan could reply something nasty, he was pulled back by his sister. "Leave him be… It's just like every other day. I cannot bear the yelling anymore." Then she turned towards her opponent: "My last warning: Stop calling yourself my father!" After taking a deep breath, she straightened up. Hatred loomed in her eyes. As she took an offensive position, she prompted her father to attack. The older man only snorted dismissively. The contempt in his attitude only cheered her on even more. She could not accept it. And she would definitely not bow to it. She would fight. She would sacrifice her body in order to save her soul. Her soul was the only thing she would never give up to anyone. Then she attacked.

**End of Flashback**

He sighed quietly, looking at his sister. A little smile appeared on his face as he watched her sleeping peacefully. No matter how stubborn she might be sometimes, she was and always would be the most important person in his life. Lost in thought, he gently stroked her hair. Never would he admit how much he had missed her warmth and her touch. Sometimes he wondered whether they really shared nothing but a brother-sister relationship… With that thought on his mind, he fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 5

Relentlessly, the sun shone in Hidan's face. Obviously annoyed, he opened his eyes and was about to complain to Kakuzu about the still missing curtains. As he sat up, he noticed that Shizuka must have already gotten up before him. Since Kakuzu didn't seem to be there either, Hidan saved his curses up for later and instead made his way to the bathroom.

The smell greeting him as he approached the room put him on alert. Opening the door, he entered. His eyes confirmed what his sense of smell had already signalized him. Blood. Blood everywhere. Shizuka's blood. Fear enclosed his heart. His hands shivered. It took him a few more seconds until he realized what must have happened. "SHIZUKAAAAAAAAA!" The power of his voice made the whole HQ quake. Breaking the door to pieces, he ran towards the dining area, expecting most members to be there. Even the heavy door of the dining room couldn't withstand the sheer force of his fear and burst asunder. Already warned by his outcry before, the members stood tense and confused, waiting for an explanation. Pain frowned. "WHERE IS SHE?!" Hidan's voice resembled a dark thunder. "SHIZUKA! SHE IS GONE! BLOOD EVERYWHERE!" Pain's eyes widened. "What?! Where's blood?" Hidan turned to the leader, as only he seemed to be responsive. "IN THE BATHROOM, SHIZUKA'S BLOOD IS EVERYWHERE! AND SHE..." "…is gone, I got that part." Pain added. "Why are you so sure that it is Shizuka's blood and not somebody el…" "I know her blood! Back then, I had to see, smell and feel it far too often!" Pain remained silent. "Perhaps it's that time of the month for her?" Tobi asked with his childish voice. Most members did well ignoring him. Hidan, however, couldn't ignore such a bad joke in the current situation. Before even Itachi's Sharingan eyes could notice the movement, Hidan had already shot forward. But the punch went straight through Tobi's body, without hitting any resistance. "Stop it!" Pain's sharp voice suppressed any protests. Instead he began to work in a strategic way in order to prevent any more futile verbal exchanges. "What could have happened?" "Has anybody noticed anything? Was anything different than usually?" Konan, who by now seemed rather anxious, too, supported him. "I only know that she woke up several times tonight and went to the bathroom." Kakuzu said. "She seemed vulnerable and a little panic." "Sounds like nightmares to me…" Sasori replied. "She has no nightmares when sleeping with me!" Hidan nagged. It was obvious to everyone present how hard he tried to control himself… Well, 'control' in Hidan's norm… "Kakuzu, how long were you awake? What was the last time she went to the bathroom?" Pain asked, regaining his cold mask. Kakuzu, who knew what the leader was thinking, shook his head. "I didn't stay in the room. At about 4am I changed rooms in order to calculate our finances." 'And because I feared that the sounds might keep her awake…' The bounty hunter added in his thoughts. "We should…" "HURRY! YES, I ALMOST CAN'T FEEL HER ANYMORE!" Hidan interrupted him. The limit of his patience had been crossed long ago. He couldn't take it anymore to just sit around and do nothing! Without another word, he fled towards the exit. At least, that's what he planned to do, had he not been tightly secured by invisible strings. "And where are you off to? Have you any idea of where she might be? How about you tell us the whole story? Then we even might be able to help you." Konan said gently. "Konan" Sasori said in an accusingly tone. "That was supposed to be my role. I wanted to say the cool part!" Konan raised her hand apologetically. "Sorry" "Let me go! I have to look for her!" "HIDAN" Pain's voice reverberated throughout the room. Everyone froze. Affected, Hidan lowered his head. "I CANNOT tell you." He felt Pain's haunting eyes and knew that he would use all kinds of methods in order to find out what Hidan was talking about. "Our knowledge… Mine and… Shizuka's… It has been sealed. Meaning…" "Meaning if you tell us you'll be facing a certain risk and we will probably be facing an even higher one." Konan finished his sentence. "Not only a certain risk…" Hidan fiercely returned her look. "Every other concerned will then be aware of your induction. And that… that is a far greater risk…" Pain stepped closely to Hidan's side and whispered: "You think Akatsuki is not capable of defending itself? You think the other members might be too weak to bear the risk? You think they might die? You think…" "Dude, stop that… I know that the members of Akatsuki are strong enough. Otherwise, they would not be worthy to be a member." Hidan backed off a little. "Come on, get these fucking strings off of me, Sasori!" Hesitant, the puppet master lowered his hands. "The clan we were born into has its own, very sick ideas of education and training as well as of plans and goals. Two guys of the group that attacked us yesterday survived." He added, his eyes still fixed on Pain. "They were sent by our clan. Their prey is Shizuka. They should have never been able to get hold of her, those motherfucking bastards! We have to get her back as fast as possible! The longer they hold her, the bigger the danger for the world will be… To be honest, I don't even care about the world I just want my sister back, ALIVE…" Pain was aware that Hidan had not told them everything. But they would have time to talk about that later. If what the Jashinist had said just now, turned out to be true, they would have a really big problem. It had to be true… Hidan would not lie under these circumstances. His beloved sister's life was at stake. Nobody, NOBODY, would ruin the Leader's plans. Nobody! All the sacrifices and the years of work would not go to waste. Nodding towards Konan, he showed his decision. She smiled, obviously relieved. "Where could they have taken Shizuka?"

12 hours later, night time

Stubborn, Hidan stared at the tree as if it was the source of all evil. The campfire created shadows glimmering on his face. "You have not yet initiated us into the oath." Pain declared. "What does your clan plan to do with Shizuka? There has to be a reason why you haven't erased the danger for your sister yet, right? Why did you rather leave her back then, instead of fighting?" Konan asked calmly but with determination. Hidan's head snapped towards her. An old conflict seemed to riot in his eyes. "It's not like I wanted to leave her but there was no other way!" "Well then, why did you have to leave her? It's alright if you do not wish to initiate everyone into the oath. However, there has to be someone who knows what's going on." For a long time, Hidan's eyes lay on Pain. Eventually, he lowered his eyes. His hands wandered to his necklace, carefully taking it off. Lost in thought, he stared at it. "Shizuka…" Hidan began quietly. Pain relaxed almost unnoticeable. "Our clan consists of nothing but Jashin's devotees. All of them are immortals just like me. Our abilities are similar but still differ in some details from each other. Of course, not all of them are as devoted as I am… Everybody has his own ambitions… Mine was Shizuka… She is as gentle and calm as a lake. When she was by my side I was a lot stronger, was able to do the most amazing things and was endlessly happy… But she was born into the wrong family! Abilities like ours have to be trained from the very beginning in order to master them perfectly. We had to fight on a daily basis… But she didn't want to. At first, I couldn't understand her and loathed her. I agreed with our father. She was a disgrace to our family and completely useless. That was before I saw her train… And I don't mean the official training during the day but her own training. The training she had created in order to understand and eventually master HER ability. She had been born with a healing power. There was no way she belonged to us. However, the more she told me about it, the more she arose and shone brighter than anybody I had ever seen before. She had convinced my heart before I even realized it… My loath turned towards my father, who forced her to slaughter people and animals day after day, forced her to hurt acquaintances and relatives. Although she didn't get along with those relatives and acquaintances anyway, it still pained her deep within. The clan was not aware of her ability. She kept her secret and had only told me about it. Nevertheless, we were not able to prevent it… Weariness and desperation marked her eyes, over and over again… I knew of her wish to bring the world at least a little bit of peace by healing diseases and septicemia. Of course, I also knew about her nightly trips to the villages close by where she would take care of the sick. We didn't notice our father's suspicion… that was a mistake…" Hidan fell silent. For a long time. "Hidan, what are they going to do with Shizuka's ability? What do they need her for?" Konan's quiet but urgent questions woke him from his thoughts. An annoyed expression appeared on his face. How could he have actually told them about his and Shizuka's past?! He already began to regret it now… "She is the only one capable of waking all Biju spirits at once." He answered shortly, feeling how the oath now included the two in front of him as well. Mainly though, he felt the uproar of the clan concerning the new initiated… 'I will probably regret this, too… But before, I will have my sister back…' The thoughts shot through the mind of the grey-haired. "WHAT?!" Pain's voice cut through the night. "And why are you only telling us this NOW?!" "Do not misunderstand, Leader… In order to awake all the Biju spirits at the same time, you need an enormous amount of chackra. This might not only cost Shizuka's life but also of the ones surrounding her. I will not sit idly by while you use her to achieve your goals. Her suffering has been going on for far too long…" Pain smoothly ignored that last part and replied: "So your clan wants to have control of all Biju spirits to rule the world?" Hidan nodded. "Yeah, more or less." "But they do not have the spirits." Konan chipped in. "You two should know best that there are lots and lots of techniques to summon something which is not close by or anything. The spirits will turn to the one who summons them. If the clan will achieve that before you, Pain, than all the work will have been for nothing." After having glared at Hidan, Pain turned away and disappeared into the forest. He needed time to think clearly.

"Is it true?" Konan asked as soon as she ceased to feel Pain's chackra. Hidan didn't look at her as he nodded. His eyes were still fixed at the spot where Pain entered the darkness of the woods. Konan stepped behind him and carefully put her hand on his tense shoulder. "Are you really siblings?" She felt Hidan cringe. "I doubt that this is any of your business! You should rather worry about your beloved leader cheating on you." He retorted. Tightly, her fingers dug into his shoulder as she whispered sharply: "You know very well that there is absolutely nothing going on between the leader and me!" Irritated and a little disappointed, she returned to the camp and went straight to sleep.

Although trembling under the impact of the punch, the tree didn't collapse. No matter how often he struck, the tree quaked but did not fall over. Not until his enraged chackra involuntarily got mixed up in his punch, the tree tumbled down with a crashing noise. Pain breathed rapidly. How could a stupid matter like this irritate him to such an extent?! It's not like it would be their first time fighting a strong enemy. Deep down he knew what was bothering him… It was the limited amount of time they were given. He was bothered by the fact that he did actually care for the life at stake this time. He was bothered by his inner conflict. Didn't he actually want to save her? Where did that feeling come from? Why was she to him as important as the mission itself? Another tree fell prey to his anger and his childish defiance before he could finally calm down. Contemplating about the approach, he returned to the camp. 'The fact that the clan now was aware of his and Konan's initiation of the oath would probably make it easier for them to trigger a confrontation… The faster the better…' He caught himself worrying about Shizuka's health. Then he remembered his broken nose and surprisingly his worries turned into smoke. Thinking about how he wished to continue their duel, he fell asleep.

_Darkness. Cold and impenetrable darkness. How long had it been? Where was she? How could she escape from here? Away from the darkness and the pain. She knew that the pain she felt was real, and not just an illusion from a genjutsu. She knew that, in order to take hold of her, they would have done anything. And they did. The little cuts and stabbing wounds were not life threatening. But being controlled by her loving relatives certainly was. The picture of those relatives handling her blood and manipulating her body with it, kept her awake. Fear arose in her as she thought of what they had planned for her. There were few things she actually feared. One of them was the Awakening Ceremony. She craved for her brother's warm hands, craved for his fierce determination to protect her no matter what. As she tried to sigh, sudden heat befell her vocal chords. Instinctively, her hands grabbed her throat in order to smooth it. Nevertheless, it became worse and worse. Desperately wanting to cool the area at least from the outside, she carefully pressed one of the countless cold stones against it. Panic made her hands shiver. After a loud crashing sound a door opened in the stone wall and she was greeted by a gruesome laugh, coming from the person who entered. Blinded by the light, she closed her eyes and let go of the stone. With a quiet almost mocking thud it fell to the ground. "You don't seem too happy, Shizuka-chan. And here I even came to welcome you personally." The irony in his voice was evil. Pure evil. She couldn't remember a single good deed he might have done. All he had ever accomplished was done with a bad intention and in order to harm other people. Breathing became harder, the burning in her throat returned stronger than before and her inner organs felt as if clenched brutally. His piercing voice kept her consciousness from fading and made her put up a mental defense. She was aware of the fact that there was no point in trying to put up her chackra shield. Since they controlled her blood, neither her chackra shield nor her blood abilities would work. So all that was left was the possibility to at least protect her mind from his dirty tricks. "Is that how you greet your father, who you haven't seen for years? That's not what I trained you to be like." Although his voice was low and actually sounded rather sweet, she knew better. With his next sentence she saw herself confirmed. "How is the pain? Is it still bearable? You should be glad about that. I wanted you to be barely alive, your pulse weak, and your breathing low. That would have been what you deserve. But the others were against it. At least, I could persuade them to let me handle most of the preparation for the ceremony, which basically means taking care of you. And I will take extra good care of you." The look in his eyes made her tremble. She had a hard time not to completely lose her composure. Taking deep breaths, she was able to steady her high pulse. "Alright, enough. Let's go, Shizuka!" A second person had entered her dark cell. Her uncle had always been different from his brother. Although their outer appearance led most people to the assumption that they were twins, they differed from each other as a loud explosion differed from a quiet painting. "Go and prepare the room, brother." Irritated to be ordered around, her father still obeyed the command of the high priest. As soon as he left the room, the heat disappeared and her inner relaxed. "Snap out of it, girl!" The sudden yell was like a punch in the face. "If you keep opening yourself like that, you are only going to provoke him even more. You should be glad that he didn't torture you yet. In his opinion, you should…" "… be barely alive with a weak pulse and a low breathing?" She finished his sentence dryly. "Oh, it seems you had a nice chat. Anyway, Shizuka, it's not going to hurt too much. At least, as far as I know… You should be able to bear it." There was an awkward pause before he added: "And it's supposed to be over rather quickly so you won't have much time to think about it anyway." In her mind, Shizuka's sarcasm replied: 'Yeah, thank you, I feel so relieved now that you told me.' She held it back knowing that it might provoke him. Her uncle was better than her father. He did have something good in him, even if it was probably deep down inside of him… very deep. However, he still was a member of this clan and not just any, but a high priest on top of it. Just like all other members, he desired the power over the Biju spirits. And he would not simply resign this chance. "Get up, girl. We're starting with the preparation of the ceremony. You'll have to be cleaned thoroughly." Impatient, he pulled her up. Struggling with her own weight, she followed him obediently, knowing that any kind of resistance would be useless and only result in more torture. _


	7. Chapter 6

"If we don't hurry up, she's going to be long dead when we arrive!" The fact that Hidan did not swear underlined just how serious he was. "Shut it, Hidan. We are all aware of that. Nothing's going to change even with you complaining about it." Pain replied, trying to contain his fury. Since almost two hours now, they had been having a hard time following Shizuka's trail. And he had a hard time keeping himself from attacking any object close to him. The more he thought about it, the more it frustrated him. When he thought about her green shining eyes and her soft golden hair, he felt his own heartbeat getting a little faster. In order to eradicate that feeling he kept reminding himself of his broken nose and the way she behaved all high and mighty. Immediately, he felt anger rising up. But no matter how strong he concentrated on his fury, he could not completely suppress that uncertain feeling in his stomach. 'What the fucking hell?!' He was sure that Konan and Itachi were the only one who knew what his inner conflict was about. He couldn't stop himself from releasing parts of his anger towards the others, especially Hidan, since he was the one who gave Pain the most room to attack. "We've been wandering around without any real trail to follow! How about sitting down and discuss the next steps?!" Even Itachi couldn't hide his surprise. There was no way that Hidan just suggested to actually stop and DISCUSS things… Well, whatever. "We do not stop. There is absolutely no time to stop moving. We have to find her and we have to do it quickly!" Pain could hardly suppress his anxiety now. His hands shivered as they became fists, his knuckles turning white. "So you plan on just walking without even knowing where to?! Wow, now that's a good idea!" Hidan's voice dripped with sarcasm. Nobody saw him moving. Suddenly Pain's hand gripped tightly Hidan's neck. "What-" "Now listen, you fucking moron! Even if we stop and discuss things, nothing will change because we still won't have any idea. So we can either keep walking and hope to find a hint on her whereabouts or we could sit down, take a potty break, have a picnic and talk about something we have not a single clue about! I prefer the method with the higher possibility of finding her before she drops dead to the ground, alright?! Any objections?!"

_"__Done yet?" her father asked impatiently. "You know, this was supposed to be my job! A high priest, like you, should not be the one to prepare the sacrifice!" "Keep that annoying tongue behind your teeth. This bathing is a sacred process that has to be done correctly in every single way. We have no room for mistakes. And your desire to torture your daughter might sabotage our whole struggles to finally fulfill our duty. Instead of waiting in front of the door, you shall prepare the altar chamber." Muttering to himself, the slightly younger man went off to the sacred chamber. Shizuka's body was washed with water as cold as ice. The cuts were cleaned and any traces of blood on her body vanished. The women washing her used hard sponges to rub out even the littlest particle of blood or dirt which might have been stuck in her pores. She couldn't stop her body from shivering. The water pierced her skin as if it were needles and not drops of a fluid. Motionless, her uncle stood next to the formal washing and watched every move of the women. "What happened to your beautiful blond hair, little girl?" He asked casually, sounding barely interested. "Surely, did it not only lose its color because of that little exhaustion you were exposed to, right?" The blank expression on her face stayed. Her reaction was delayed. It took her brain a few moments until it was able to process the words and their meaning and thus form an answer. There was no point in lying to her Uncle and she was too tired anyway. "A few hours before you managed to get a hold of me, I treated three members of Akatsuki. They had been poisoned by the capsules, your 'puppets' from Otogakure had dropped during the fight. And right before that, I was in the middle of a fight against Pain…" Her voice dropped to a level that her uncle could no longer hear. There was no sharpness to her eyes anymore. The cold water had taken all the energy from her body and her skin was as sensitive as a newborn's would be. "Leave us!" Her Uncle's voice cut through the silence like a knife. While bowing to the High Priest the women strode away. Suddenly, the room seemed a lot smaller than before. She had to bite down the urge to distance herself from her uncle as fast as possible. The contrast between her pale skin and the pitch black room frightened her. As the High Priest came closer, the shivering of her body became stronger until her legs could not carry her weight any longer. She fell to the ground and the impact with the icy surface made her cry out. A slicing pain roared through her blood and her head felt close to exploding. _

After Pain had relieved everybody of the decision what to do, they had travelled further into the direction Hidan remembered to be their residence, before he had left. Using Zetsu's clones, Deidara's clay animals and Konan's paper guards (little birds that she normally used to overhear people's conversations), allowed them to cover a greater range and heightened their possibility of finding clues to Shizuka's whereabouts. The members had been silent for quite some time. Nobody felt like adding any more fuel to the already rather explosive atmosphere. Even Tobi shut his mouth. Konan could feel the uneasiness coming from Hidan. A sudden thought crossed her mind. "Hidan", she almost yelled excited. Startled by the loud voice all of the sudden, Hidan turned to look at her. "What did you mean earlier, when you said you almost cannot feel her anymore?" The group had come to a stop. Judging from Hidan's expression, he probably had not understood what she was thinking. "You said this morning that you can distinguish her blood by smell, look and feeling. How come you can feel her blood?" Comprehension appeared on Hidan's face. "Well, since we, Priests of Jashin, work with blood on an everyday basis, we percept it a lot different compared to normal people. Shizuka and I are blood bound." Obviously not content with the fact that he could not bear to curse, while he knew his sister was in danger, he thought this topic done. Only as he felt Konan tightly gripping his wrist, did he notice the perplexed expressions on some of the faces. "Blood bound simply means that her blood flows in my veins as mine does in hers." He answered shortly. "So, you can feel her, can't you?" Konan asked still excited. "No, not anymore." All eagerness left the young woman's face. "What do you mean, not anymore?" "I cannot feel her anymore and that's it!" he finished the interrogation harshly. He did not feel like talking about the Awakening Ceremony… "What are you keeping from us now?" Pain intervened. Fury arose in his eyes. Hidan bared his teeth. Looking from the outside, one would be facing two rivaling wolfs. "That is none of your business!" the Immortal growled. "Oh yes, it is our business! Everybody here is doing their best to find Shizuka!" Pain replied in a threatening tone. "Hidan, it would be better if you stopped keeping things from us that might actually help." Konan said calmly while pushing herself in between the two rivals. Hidan jumped back and shouted: "How come you don't get?! How stupid are you?! I cannot sense her anymore because there is almost none of my blood left in her! Those bastards are cleaning her for the Ceremony so that the Biju spirits will taste no other but her pure blood. Happy now?!" Appalled Konan stepped back. Pains face became a little paler. "You mean we are too late?" the Leader asked completely calm. Snorting, Hidan answered: "I can only localize her when she prays… During her prayers, she offers her own blood to Jashin. Her blood is pure. No other family member was born with her purity. When her blood touches the ground, I will be able to localize her…" "Meaning we will have to wait until she prays?" Konan summarized it. Hidan nodded. At that point he seemed downfallen. Anxiety had dispersed his usual liveliness. He pulled out a small dagger and placed a clean cut on his forearm. While the warm blood turned the grass red, he pressed his palms together and bowed down to pray. It was rare that he practiced this form of prayer. 'Please, Jashin, help my sister. Please, do not let her die…'

_Soft hands turned her on her back. Although her eyes were not yet ready to process any income, her senses told her that her uncle was moving. The sound of a dagger being unsheathed alarmed her but she was not able to move. One after another, were the little cuts on her body reopened in order to present fresh and clean blood to Jashin, so that He would be pleased and grant them their wish. The tears filling her eyes were the only sign of her desperation. It was not the pain which caused the tears but the feeling of being unable to do anything. Helpless. Humiliated. Broken. She had tried to exclude those feelings since the moment she left her family back when she was a kid. After what they had done to her, she never wanted to feel like that again. The humiliation hurt more than any pain she ever had endured. It was the reason why she was so sensitive to being treated in a dismissive or contemptuous manner. A picture of Pain showed up before her inner eye. Although he seemed to be furious, she herself did not feel anything but warmth in her chest. The thought that he might have gone through something similar as she, had crossed her mind before and now she kind of regretted not knowing whether she was right or not… "Finally" her Uncle said ceremonially. "Now all that is left is the pure blood in your veins. Look around you." His arm described a circle around her. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her head as she turned her head, she saw her brother's blood spread around her. The blood which had kept her body going. Her motivation to find him again. It was now no longer a part of her body. "You really should be honored, Shizuka. You are the pure-blooded offer to Jashin. He will personally take care of your spirit when your outer shell cannot withstand the pressure anymore during the Ceremony. Consider yourself lucky!" Plop. Her eyes widened. Plop. Strained, she tried to identify the whispering she heard. Then insight struck her like lightning. It was her brother's blood that was calling to her. Hidan was praying, was praying for her sake. Suddenly her Uncle seemed alarmed. He cursed and quickly put a blanket around her. "Oh no, not this time, Hidan. You will not take her from us again! Her blood will only be spilled in front of Jashin!" he hissed. The blanket prevented her blood from falling to the ground. Shizuka knew that this would be the only chance to perhaps live for a while longer. She forced her battered body to struggle against her Uncle's tight grip. Surprised by her sudden resistance the High Priest dropped her to the ground. Again she had to cry out as the impact had not been less painful than the one from before. She tried to wriggle out of the blanket. However, before she was able to free herself, the man had regained his composure and hit her against the temples. The strong punch knocked her out. Swearing, the High Priest put a black robe on her, picked his niece up and moved towards the ceremonial chambers. Though unconscious and weakened by her loss of blood, Shizuka could feel Hidan's desperation. It hurt to see her lively, slightly brutal but funny brother in that kind of state. On top of this whole misery, all of it was her fault to begin with… Her Uncle did not notice the tears of blood that were running down her face for a few instants. With a silent plop they fell to the ground where some of them mixed back together with the spilled blood of her brother. _

"Hidan! H-I-D-A-N!" Slowly Konan's voice reached his mind. Shaking his head to get rid of the dizziness, he looked at her. Or rather through her. "What's wrong?" The pressure was pushing him to the ground. His throat burned like hell's fire, breathing seemed harder and his inner organs were apparently clenched by an iron fist. A wave of emotions crashed down on him, almost crushing him beneath. His hands were pressed against his temples. He heard Shizuka's cries. They were full of pain and agony. His first thought was to hug her and stop her tears but then he understood that there was no time at the moment. Closing his eyes, he tried to ignore the sound of her sobbing and cry outs in order to focus on something even more important right now: Her location. Deep down he had to know where she was. He sorted through her emotions and thoughts until he finally found what he had been looking for. Pictures. Pictures from where they had taken her. Cursing loudly, he returned to reality. Konan was holding his hand. Pain's eyes were intensely staring at him. "So, what did you find out?" "I know where she is. And there is not much time left…" His voice sounded hoarse. Then he got up and started running. Running towards her. While they took up speed, he described what he had seen to Pain and where they would find the place. The Leader nodded quietly. A little sign of relief marked his face. They finally had a direction. Now the only thing left to do was hurry.

_"__High Priest" One of the men with coats approached her uncle. "We are now ready to start the Awakening Ceremony." Her uncle looked at him. His voice was full of doubt and dismissiveness. "Are you sure? Did you double-check everything? We can absolutely not make any mistakes. This is the only chance we will get. Otherwise, our clan will have to wait until another pure-blood is born. And that might take thousands of years, do you understand?!" The man took a step back and bowed. "We shall check once again and then you may enter, High Priest." He disappeared back into the room and shut the door behind himself. "Unbelievable! Do those fools even understand what they are doing? We have waited centuries for this ceremony!" His eyes showed his disgust for so-called low-lives. "At least, you stopped struggling, little one. What did you think you were doing? Are you trying to get your brother killed as well?" The words hurt her. She would never want her brother killed. _

"We are close!" Hidan yelled to the members running behind him. Pain tried to focus on their surroundings in order to find a few places and things that might be helpful during their invasion and escape. Escape… They didn't even have a decent plan for invading the fortress of immortal Jashin devotees and here he was already thinking about the safest escape route for Shizuka. But what if it wouldn't even come to that? What if they failed? A picture appeared before his inner eyes. The girl lay on the ground, facing the sky. So much blood. Her clothes, which had been ripped to pieces, were scattered around her, completely soaked in blood. Although her hair had turned pitch black from the exhaustion, it was obvious that they were dripping with blood, too. Her beautiful face was stained by bloody tears. Pain forced himself to look at her eyes. They were wide open, starring up, as one more drop of red fluid ran down her cheeks and fell to the ground. His insides clenched brutally. Closing his eyes, he wished for that gruesome image to disappear, to forget he had ever seen it. Pain gasped for air as his heart felt so tight. Konan threw him a worried look. 'We have to find her' Pain thought. 'We have to find her in time! So that I can sort things out with her.' He caught up with Hidan to speed up the group.

_The huge doors opened. Slowly and with an aura of triumph, her uncle stepped forward, carrying her carefully as you would carry a newborn. The ceremonial chamber was almost completely dark. Not even glancing at the other priests, her uncle walked straight toward a single ray of bright light shining in through a hole in the high ceilings. The only place that was exposed to the stream was the altar in the middle of the room. Shizuka couldn't help but notice that not even every priest had a candle, which made the room even darker. She was put on the altar, like a dish ready to be served. Stepping back, her uncle made room for the other priests to line up. Each and every single one of them came up to the altar, touched her and then went to a specific place in the hall. She couldn't move. Her body was too worn out by the loss of blood and the torturing of her father. On the inside though, she screamed and yelled so loud, her head hurt. The anger and fear that boiled in her made her bones vibrate. She was so helpless. Last priest coming up was her father. He grinned and looked at her for what she thought must have been hours. "Finally, you are going to be of some use to this family." Brutally, he pressed her collarbone, said a verse like everyone else and then went to his place. _

"It has to be here!" Hidan said, panting from the long and fast run. He pointed at the huge stone wall. "Where's the entrance?" Tobi asked calmly. "I am going to make one." Deidara replied and grinned widely. In a matter of seconds, he had formed a huge spider out of his clay. The spider climbed the wall and exploded with a *katsu*. As the smoke cleared, Sasori glared at Deidara and meant: "Don't you ever do that again without warning us! We were all right behind you, you bomb freak!" Deidara pouted at the insult. "I still did the job!" He said in a bitchy tone. "Well, you know, perhaps using this door here," Itachi pointed to a hidden doorknob "would have been less alarming. Now, everybody inside knows we are coming." Itachi added. "No, they don't." Hidan interrupted the rising argument. Something was wrong. There was no tumult, no fury or surprise that he felt. If the clan had noticed them, he would have felt it through the oath he was bond to. "Well, lucky us." Konan said. The others nodded in unison. Except for Pain and Hidan. "No… not at all…" Hidan mumbled. Before anything else was said, Pain jumped through the hole in the wall and disappeared into the dark with Hidan right behind him. "Hey, wait up, guys!" Konan yelled, following them. Hidan turned around. "If they did not hear us just now, it must mean that they have already locked themselves in the ceremonial chamber and are only minutes, maybe even seconds, away from performing the Awakening Ceremony!"

_As soon as each priest had taken his position in the room, it suddenly became very quiet. There had been no chit-chatting to begin with but now it seemed that even mother earth was holding her breath, anxious of what might happen next. Although it was only a matter of seconds until the high priest began reciting the summoning ritual, the dark silence felt like hours, falling onto everybody and everything in the room like a dark and heavy veil, even oppressing Shizuka's inner screams and thus crushing one barrier of resistance after another. Her anger disappeared and left her tired. 'Just let it be over… Please, put an end to this misery…' She was well aware that those were not thoughts originating from her own mind but the influence of the summoning chant of her uncle. As she tried to exhale to calm her mind, her breath came out slowly and without any energy. It was hard work to settle down. Not only desperation and panic but also fear and regret had risen up inside of her, had tightened the grasp around her heart and seemed to suffocate her. Steadily, she calmed down, detaching her soul from her body, as she used to do all the time when her family had tortured her. For the first time in her life, she was only a heartbeat away from completely separating her soul from her body; a step she would probably not be able to reverse. Her hesitation was fatal. Suddenly something pulled her back inside, locking the soul into her human shell. Then, invisible claws began to dig into her flesh._

"Dammit, this building is huge! How are we supposed to know in which room they are?!" Deidara cursed. "Hidan, you know where those ceremonial chambers are, right? You know how the system of these hideouts work , right?" Grinding his teeth, Hidan shook his head. "Every hideout is different and no one but the high priest understands all systems…" He had felt his sister so clearly before! Why was it that now, where he had gotten this close already, he couldn't sense her anymore?! "It is probably as far away from the entrance as possible." Konan said with certainty in her voice. "Let's follow this hallway and not get distracted, guys!" Pain, who was ahead of the others, hadn't heard any of their voices. He was too busy, dealing with his emotions that had gained intensity. 'Where are you, Shizuka?' His inner voice screamed out loud. Following his instinct, he ran forward, hopefully, closer to her.

_The black robe, her uncle had put on her, lay torn and bloody on the ground around the altar, exposing her naked, mistreated body to the world. However, that was the least of her worries at the moment. The pressure around her was rising. The air was getting thicker and heavier. Closing her burning eyes, she tried to shut out what was happening around her, wished to be someplace different. Then, the first scream echoed through the walls. One after another, the priests went down screaming in agony, pressing the hands against their temples. Jashin was close. Not everyone was mentally strong enough to bear his presence or his voice. But that had been her uncle's intention from the very beginning. The summoning of the Biju spirits would not only require her pure blood but a lot of sacrifices on top. After all, Jashin was a god and a very demanding one. Their plea for help when awakening all the Biju spirits had interested him and he would grant them some of his power if they were to pay the consequences. There were over a hundred priests in this room, all of them devoted to Jashin since the moment they came to life. Her uncle was clever. Instead of simply sacrificing civilians, he had chosen to offer Jashin his loyal followers, sweetening his part to the absolute max. Shizuka felt the presence of the god. 'My little one…' His voice was dark but surprisingly gentle. 'You are coming home…' At the sound of his voice, another dozen of the priests died instantly. Their bodies, however, didn't just go down, instead they burst, splattering their blood and body parts through the room. Soon Shizukas hair was dripping with blood. It was hard to differentiate between her own and the blood of the priests on her body now. Slowly, a picture of Pain appeared before her inner eye. His emotionless mask continuously faded and instead a quite anxious, almost panic-stricken expression marked his face. Involuntarily, Shizuka paid closer attention to his lips. After having followed the movements of his lips a few times, she was surprised to notice that he really seemed to be calling her name. Suddenly, the lips of the young, with blood soiled woman formed a smile. He had come to claim the Biju spirits for himself. Her uncle would dirty his hands with all the work and give his life for it. In the end, it would be Pain who commanded the Bijus and her sacrifice would not be in vain. How could she even smile in a situation like this? After all, she and Pain had had a lot of trouble with each other. They couldn't even be in the same room as the other without getting into another argument. And still… She had noticed that he always wore his emotionless mask in front of the others. Even with Konan, he wasn't as 'open' as he was with her. One last time, Shizuka looked at the handsome face of the Leader, before slowly opening her eyes. Still smiling, her lips formed his name. Then her eyes met the one's of her God._

"The tunnel is divided into right and left!" Deidara yelled and informed everybody about it. "We are neither deaf nor blind!" Sasori meant rather annoyed. "It would probably be best if we separated…" Before Konan could finish her sentence, Pain had already decided. Together with Hidan, he was still running a few meters ahead of the others. Although he didn't know anything about the construction of these caves, his instinct and his desire to find Shizuka in time told him to turn right. Hidan followed him without hesitation. The white-haired had lost the connection to his sister however he as well trusted his instincts. Even he had noticed how important Shizuka had become to the Leader. Whenever it was about his sister, his antennas were a little oversensitive. At the beginning, he was pretty sure that they would tear each other apart one day. During the last few days and mostly since Shizuka's disappearance, the Leader's feelings had become obvious to Hidan. Just like Hidan himself, Pain was as keen to find the young woman alive. And it certainly wasn't the thought of attaining the Biju spirits that made him rush as if the devil was behind him…


	8. Chapter 7

_The outlines of the hand approaching her, were blurred and the hand itself almost transparent. However, as soon as those fingers touched her cheek, they gained consistency and strength. Shizuka couldn't say whether the touch was warm or cold, gentle or hard. She was totally captured in the eyes of her creator and was not able to look away. Despite the fascinating sight, she still heard the cries of agony around her, felt her burning limbs and smelled the blood. So much blood… "Forget all of that. It is not important anymore. It does not concern you anymore. After all these centuries, I am finally presented with a Pureblood. And on top of that, you are one of my closest and most loyal followers. Shizuka…" His voice flattered her. And then, the cries actually became quieter, the pain retreated further and further and even the smell of iron became weaker. The picture of Pain however, the slightly anxious and disturbed expression on his face and his lips that called out her name, were deeply imprinted in her brain. "Let it go, Shizuka… Free yourself and come back to my side, my little one..:" She was well aware that this death and the life with Jashin afterwards would definitely be easier and less painful than her life up until now. There would finally be a place where she could stay and she wouldn't have to escape all the time. Those thoughts however didn't change anything about the steadfastness of the picture before her inner eye. "Shizuka, you are special. This human world crammed with scum is not a place for you to live. Look at your father and your uncle." Suddenly, she could see the whole hall reflected in his eyes. Her body lying motionless on the altar. Her uncle who was trying to keep on reciting the ritual although he was already sweating and shivering all over. And her father, or at least the little bit that was left of him. He was still alive and his body hadn't dissolved yet but it seemed to be a matter of a few moments. Blood was coming out of his nose, the corner of his mouth, his eyes and ears. His hands were shivering uncontrollably and every spark of evil had vanished from his expression. Now, there was only room for fear; pure, destroying fear. Then suddenly, another picture appeared before her. Hidan and Pain were running through the dome and were inexorably getting closer to Ceremonial Chambers. A little distance behind them, Konan and the rest of the members appeared. Immediately, the picture disappeared and she was confronted yet again with the two bottomless oceans of her creator. "Forget all of it. Let go of your worries. Your uncle won't achieve his goal to awaken the Biju spirits. Even if I helped him, he would be too weak. After all, they did forget the most important part." There was a short break before he continued talking with a threatening tone in his voice. "Even if he had been able to summon the Biju spirits, he wouldn't have been able to control them. That is a gift, which is reserved to only Pureblooded or the Gods themselves. By sacrificing you to me and that, I have to say, in a very unreasonable state, he gambled away the little chance he had." Once again, she caught a sight of the scenery around her. In the corner of her eye, she watched her father, crying out desperately one last time before his body as well burst into tiny little pieces. Almost indifferently, her eyes wandered to her uncle, whose eyes were flickering anxiously, trying to understand what was happening in this room. "He cannot see me." The God answered her question before she even formulated it in her mind. "Nobody can, except you." Slowly, resistance rose up in her heart. No matter how much she wished to obey her God and to accept his quite attractive offer, her heart longed for her brother and… for Pain. Everybody had come to stop the Summoning of the Biju spirits. Her brother had come to save her. And the same seemed to be true for Pain… Her instincts were sure that he came for her. "I believe there is a misunderstanding here." The hard voice of Jashin woke her from her thoughts. "This is not an offer. You are already mine."_

After a few more turns and another two interceptions, a big gate appeared at the end of the tunnel. 'That has to be it!' Pain thought. Without slowing down, he ran towards it, then abruptly stopped before it and grabbed the oversized doorknob. He felt the defensive mechanism before he saw it. The electric shock let him stumble backwards against the wall. "I think it's locked." Zetsu's black half meant dryly. Before anybody else tried the mechanism of the door, Hidan said: "This door is probably the least of our problems." The others looked at him, surprise on their faces. "Even if we can enter the Ceremonial Chambers, we would be confronted with Jashin himself." "What do you mean?", Konan asked confused. "Well, as far as I know, none of you idiots fought a God recently, am I correct?" He replied majorly pissed and with a very aggressive tone. "None of us is fit to fight him. Even together we would be nothing more than a group of newborns to him." His jaws grinded excessively. "We are probably too late anyway…" He added more quietly. A fist punch ended the grinding activity of his jaws. "Stop whining around and open that fucking door!" Pain said grimly, still fighting the aftereffects of the electric shock. Hidan threw him a deadly glance, but then he turned without another comment to the door. The defensive mechanism had no effect on him and with a great amount of power the immortal was able to open the gate a few inches. Kakuzu's hands helped him and in the end, they pulled the heavy gate out of its frame and let it fall over into the room behind it.

The sight, they were presented with, rendered them speechless. Despite the darkness entwining the room, the shimmering fluid, which seemed to cover almost the whole hall, wasn't something one could miss. Several body parts decorated the floor, the walls and every corner. The gruesome massacre before their eyes and the penetrating smell of blood and death didn't spare their already upset stomachs. However, even worse than the smell, was the unbelievable high pressure in the room. As soon as they had entered the Chambers, they felt a great burden on their shoulders that was trying to push them down to the ground with an invincible force. Most of them wanted to turn around and leave the room right away. The only one, who seemed to not be affected by his surroundings, was the Leader. His eyes were fixated on the center of the hall. The girl lay on the ground, facing the sky. So much blood. Her clothes, which had been ripped to pieces, were scattered around her, completely soaked in blood. Although her hair had turned pitch black from the exhaustion, it was obvious that they were dripping with blood, too. Her beautiful face was stained by bloody tears. Pain forced himself to look at her eyes. They were wide open, starring up, as one more drop of red fluid ran down her cheeks and fell to the ground. "Shizuka!" No reaction…

His heart seemed to stop beating. They were too late…


	9. Chapter 8

_Of course, she was well aware that this was no 'offer' but a sacrifice and that she wasn't in any position to decline. Nevertheless, her heart refused to give up on life just like that and without goodbyes. Suddenly, she heard a loud bang. It seemed to come from far away and sounded somewhat muffled but it woke her from her trance and with a snap of the fingers everything returned. The smell of blood, the pain in her body and the fire in her heart. She knew that her death wouldn't help anyone. Even if her uncle managed with his last wretched power to summon the Biju spirits, neither he himself nor Pain would be able to control them. She didn't dare to imagine the extent of the chaos and death that would be the result of the Bijus' rampage. Although her mind was wide awake, there was no chance of moving her body. "Shizuka!" Her heart skipped a beat and immediately she felt warmth streaming through her cold body. She would have loved to turn her head to Pain to look in his eyes but her body wasn't ready for that. By trying to visually percept anything around her, she caught a glimpse of Pain's reflection in Jashin's eyes. Hidan seemed to stand right next to the Leader. 'Why do the look so horrified?' She asked herself. "Because you are already dead to them." 'Why…' "Because you belong to me, Pureblooded." 'No… no… that can't be…' She began to fight against the rigidity inside and tried franticly to move anything of her body. 'But I feel pain, which means I can't be dead yet!' Her reason roared. "Who claimed that there would be no pain in death? That would be too easy." Jashin's voice had grown more and more merciless and the gentleness had completely vanished. "I cannot just let you go, Shizuka. You are the first pastime in a few thousand years; the first Pureblooded since a long, long time. And you are unique. Never before has there been somebody in your clan with healing abilities like yours. The only one, whose talent was similar to yours, was your mother, who left this disgusting world very early." 'My mother…' Intensively, Shizuka tried to remember any details about her mother but all she saw was a big black hole. "You cannot remember her. She died giving birth to you." 'I cannot die yet…' Shizuka rebelled internally. "You neither have to worry about your brother nor about your man. Both will have to learn how to live without you." Her heart skipped another beat as she realized that his words 'your man' were talking about Pain. But then reality caught up to her again. There was no point in begging for her life. Jashin would not heed her wish. Hidan's cries still reached her ears and her heart clenched painfully. What was she supposed to do?_

Hidan couldn't stand still. His voice started to break off from all the crying out but he had no choice. Imploringly, he stood in front of the altar and fought against the enormous pressure, which separated him from his beloved sister. Unlike Pain, who stood still and wasn't able to move an inch. 'This can't be… Why didn't we locate her faster? Why didn't we run faster? How can this be?!' Although his thoughts seemed to drive roller coaster, Pain just felt empty and totally worn out. 'Turn around! Say something! Look at me with the same merry grin like before! Do something! Anything!' His inner voice yelled at Shizuka. But nothing happened.

_"__Turn around… Say something…" Astonished, Shizuka's attention was caught by that voice. It belonged… to Pain! Though quiet at the beginning, it soon drowned her brother's voice without problem. "Look… at… me! Don't be dead! You can't be dead! Please!" Tears seemed to accompany his voice; Hope and desperation seemed to carry it. New power rose in her and again she tried to regain control over her body. But no success. Not even her eye lids closed on her command. "It's as I said before: You are already dead to them." Jashin's voice sounded in her head. "It is over. Stop fighting." That was out of question for her. She would never give up! Suddenly, she was shaken intensely. The pain grew almost unbearable and it took every single bit of her mental control to not lose conscious at this point. "Shizuka! Wake up! Come on! Don't leave me now, baby girl!" The voice of her brother sounded so far away but he had to stand right next to her. It had to be him who was shaking her after all. "NOOOO!" The deafening rolling thunder of the God reached her brother as well, who flinched and seemed to fight for his own conscious as well. Even Pain seemed to be affected by the voice because his thoughts stopped for a moment._

He heard him. Jashin was really there, in this room. Why didn't he do anything against this sacrilege? How could he allow a pureblooded to be maltreated like that right before his eyes? Hidan quietly prayed to his God, pleading him to save his sister. They could not be too late! His hands clasped the shoulders of the young woman harder and shook her once more. She had to wake up!

_Slowly, the control over her body returned to her. Although the shaking was hardly bearable and would normally send her over the edge, she kept fighting for her consciousness. But then again, what was normal about this situation… All the bleeding, or 'purifying' as the high priest had called it, and the torture had made her cross her limit long ago. Pure will was what kept her alive right now. Mobilizing her power reserves, she finally regained total control over her body._

There! The eyelid twitched slightly. Once, twice… then she blinked. Immediately, her eyes wandered from Hidan to Pain's motionless figure. When their eyes met, she didn't know what to do with all those sudden emotions and what to express first. Relief, happiness, worry, hope, a spark of anger… Love? Affection? On the inside, she smiled benignly as she noticed that he woke from his rigor and began to stagger towards her. In a matter of seconds, he stood beside her mistreated body. Hesitantly, his hand moved to her cheek; slightly touched her forehead, went carefully over her eyelashes as if he was making sure that her eyes really lay on him and not on anything else. Then, he cupped her face between his two hands. Painfully, she slightly turned her head to nestle against his hand, enjoying his warm touch on her cold skin. Her right hand found Hidan's and squeezed it in support and calmness. "I will not allow your pure blood to be mixed with anyone's but mine!" Appalled, she flinched. Although it was certainly the voice of the high priest, she knew that he was not himself. 'Jashin-sama!' The realization would have hit her mind one second too late. Her heart, however, had understood the situation right away. Apparently, upon Akatsuki's arrival her uncle had hidden himself in a dark corner of the room and now the deity used his body to execute his will. She also knew that his goal wasn't her death but Pain's. Her instinct acted before her brain could process the income. Her left hand struck out and hit directly below Pain's last rip. Under effort, she managed to add a little chackra burst upon contact. Pain, thus, lost his balance and fell to the ground quiet inelegantly. In the very moment Pain's arm, in the attempt to absorb the fall, made contact with the ground, the empty shell of her uncle sank the dagger all the way to the hilt into her chest. All that happened so fast that even Hidan's attempts to dodge were far too slow. A heartbeat later, Her uncle's head rolled on the ground and his body was pierced with all sorts of weapons. This time, however, they really were too late. Shizuka's hand had wandered to the hilt of the dagger, trying to clasp on to the last moments of her life. Pain already stood next to her, numb. She knew that he had not yet understood that it really was over now. Definitely. His hand clutched her hair as he carefully lifted her head. His eyes told books, yet not a single sound escaped his pretty lips. Hidan, however, could not hold back. Like a waterfall, pleading words left his mouth. Her right hand squeezed her brother's hand tighter for a spare second as she slightly opened her mouth. Immediately, he shut up. A small smile appeared on her blood covered face. One last time, she sank into the beautiful magenta eyes of her beloved brother before turning her head left to look at Pain. Slowly, her left hand let go of the dagger and wandered to Pain's face. When her hand, wet from her own blood, touched his cheek, he flinched slightly. The smile turned into a weak grin. "Don't worry…" She coughed and her body cramped painfully, causing more blood to run out of the corner of her mouth. "… I won't… *cough*… break your… nose again." How could she still make fun in a situation like this?! A flash of anger and confusion appeared in Pain's eyes. "Aahhh… I made… you angry… again." Immediately, the anger disappeared and instead he involuntarily clutched her hair tighter. "You shouldn't have done that! Why did you push me aside?!" His words were quiet, almost a whisper. "But who could…" Another coughing fit interrupted her. "… control the Bijus if you… were gone?" "FUCK those Bijus! What's the worth of peace if one is still alone!" His honest and direct words surprised Shizuka. Hidan and the rest of the members were just as astonished by the sudden emotional outburst of their Leader. Even Pain himself seemed mildly surprised by his words. Suddenly, her hand clasped his shoulder tightly and pulled him down a bit while pushing herself up. "You will never be alone! Wait for me…" Her weak breath met his hot one. She enjoyed looking at his face and the feelings in his eyes for one last time. Then, all life left her eyes and she limply sank back onto the altar.


	10. Chapter 9

Neither Hidan nor Pain remembered much from the following hours. Sometime after Shizuka's death, the members must have left the room to wait outside. None of them wanted to be near the two men. Only Konan stayed at Hidan's side and didn't let herself be intimidated by his outbursts and teary breakdowns. At the beginning, she felt guilty for only helping Hidan but one look at Pain told her that she couldn't be of any help to him. Hidan, she could give her love to, but Pain had just lost the love and hope of his life. Traumatized, he starred at the lifeless, young woman in his arms. Not a single tear ran down his cheek. No emotions were directly displayed on his face. Konan didn't dare to look at his eyes, fearing what she might discover there. Supportive, she held Hidan's hand and looked sadly at the mistreated figure on the altar. 'This was a way too early and cruel death… You are still needed here…' Although she and Shizuka had not had much time with each other, Konan had felt much closer to Hidan's sister than to any other person of the female gender. Had they only had more time together, they would have become good… no… best friends…

After almost an hour, Konan persuaded the two men to return to headquarter. Well, actually, she didn't get a response from either of them so she decided to gently push them out of the room. She couldn't take this bloody massacre any longer. Her proposal of taking Shizuka's corpse with them was unnecessary. Pain hadn't let go of the young woman's body for even a second. Silently, they began their way back. Although they travelled as a group, not a single word was said in the Leader's or Hidan's presence. None of the members dared to. Even Deidara and Tobi were quiet. As soon as they had reached the HQ, their ways separated and all of them quickly retreated to their rooms.

After a few minutes of total motionlessness Pain made a decision and went to his office. Hidan and Konan followed him. Instead of entering, he passed the door and turned to the next one. 'What's on his mind? That room has been empty ever since we moved in here.' Konan thought confused. She had expected him to prepare a fire burial. The Leader opened the door and entered. Not glancing at the room once, Pain went straight for the tiny bathroom. Guessing what he was planning to do, Konan opened the water-tap of the little bathtub and waited for the warm water to come. When it did, she positioned the plug and waited. Without taking his eyes off Shizuka, Pain left the bathroom and closed the door behind him. 'Doesn't he care that Hidan will still be in the room when I wash her?' Konan asked herself surprised. But as she looked at Hidan's expression, she shook her head almost unnoticeable. He would not be able to take this. Gently yet determined, she pushed the Jashinist through the door and shut it. Then she began to remove the rest of the shreds of clothing, which turned out to be far more difficult than expected because the blood had long dried by now. Eventually, she cautiously maneuvered the body with her paper birds into the filled tub and began to wash off the blood with a soft sponge. In a matter of minutes, the water had turned dark red. Although she was used to quite a lot of blood, she had to swallow hard looking at the countless cuts. 'How could anybody do this to any human being?! Especially to somebody like Shizuka?' Konan doubted that she would ever understand sick traditions like that. Tears dwelled in her eyes. Involuntarily, her thoughts wandered to the two broken men outside. Would they ever be able to return to their former selves? Absorbed in thought, she cleaned the wounds carefully, not wanting to cause any more damage. Surprised, she noticed that under all that blood, Shizuka's face wasn't marked by a single scratch. 'How weird…'

Almost half an hour later, Konan opened the door to let Hidan and Pain inside. Shizuka's body was wrapped in a dark red, silky Kimono to hide the wounds her body was covered in. Outsiders could be thinking that she was just sleeping peacefully… Considering what had happened the day before, everybody knew that 'peaceful' certainly wasn't the right word. Slowly, Pain approached her and lifted her up. Leaving the bathroom, he went straight for the only piece of furniture in the adjoining room. The table was made of dark wood and despite his obvious age still held a certain pride. After a moment of hesitation the Leader put the woman's body on the table. Wordless, he disappeared for a few minutes. When he returned, he was carrying a small, white pillow and an almost see-through blanket. Fondly, he bedded her head on the pillow and elegantly threw the blanket over her. He kept plucking on the piece of cloth until it evenly covered everything beneath her belly button and hang evenly from all three sides of the table. Then he positioned her hands in a praying pose on her chest. In utter silence, Konan and Hidan watched as Pain pulled a white lily from beneath his cloak, placing it between Shizuka's hands. For several minutes, the three remained, each of them absorbed in their own thoughts. Then, abruptly, Pain turned around and walked towards the door. As he passed Hidan, he put his hand on the Immortal's shoulder for a few seconds, expressing his respect and condolence. The clicking of Pain closing the door was the sound to break the agonizing silence. A few heartbeats later Hidan fell to his knees, clawing his hands into the table, seeking support. Long before the tears ran down his face, he started sobbing brutally. A feeling of suffocation seized him. Desperately panting for air, panic started to rise in him, taking away all his energy. His hands lost their grip on the table. Konan caught him before he could crash onto the ground. Kneeling in front of him, she pulled him into her embrace, rocking him like a mother her little child. Smoothly, she stroked his hair. For the first time in his immortal life, Hidan held on to a woman other than his sister. Had it not been Konan, he couldn't have let go like this. Afterwards, he couldn't even imagine the following weeks without her. The initial timidity quickly disappeared and they slept together in one bed without any kind of erotic contact. She would hold him tightly, consoling him and at the same time receiving solace from him. By being there for him, she helped herself.

Days passed, soon becoming weeks. And weeks turned into months. Often, Pain and Hidan were spotted silently sitting next to each other, not exchanging a single word. Still, they seemed to give each other comfort (though neither of them would ever admit that). After only a day, Pain had returned to his emotionless mask, resuming his job as a leader as if nothing had ever happened in the first place. For the sake of peace, nobody ever mentioned Shizuka's name in his presence. They weren't sure how he might react to it and nobody wanted to test it. Solely Konan knew about his nightly trips. Always around midnight, the Leader locked himself into the room where Shizuka rested. Her outside appearance hadn't changed in all those months. Sasori had created a sea of flowers around her body. Just like Pain's lily, the flowers would never wither, never lose their beauty. Mostly, Pain would stand in front of the altar for hours, simply looking at her. Sometimes, Konan secretly wondered what he was telling her about in his thoughts. She also didn't quite understand why he wouldn't arrange a fire burial, knowing that he and Hidan were the only ones with the right to do that. Hidan and she had made their relationship official and to say that it was sizzling in their night time was still a huge understatement. Once a week, they would visit Shizuka and pray together. Often, they would tell her about current events or made fun of each other. Although Hidan would probably never get over her death completely, he had allowed himself to be happy again, now 8 months after it. His loud, blunt and sometimes aggressive attitude had returned, which hadn't made all the members as happy as Konan. Now and then, the members would visit Shizuka, mostly to pray a little or just to say hi. The time she had spent with Akatsuki had been short. Nevertheless, her unabashed way of fighting for justice had impressed them. Another important trademark had been her definition of justice itself. For her, freedom was an elementary right of each living person. A right, that couldn't be caged into a stiff law of the government. Every single person should be granted the right of freedom from the moment of their birth until the day they die. Everyone should be allowed to decide his own fate and act accordingly. Of course, she understood that there was no perfect world without murder or crime like in the fairytales. Her personal peace had been to see as many people as possible live their life free and thus help to bring a little more peace to the world. Although their approach and method could not have been any more different, Pain and Shizuka had had the same goal. Peace at last…


	11. Chapter 10

A year had gone by since her death. Unchanged, like the sleeping beauty, Shizuka's body rested on that dark table, surrounded by eternally blooming flowers. The members did their job, fulfilled missions, collected Intel about the remaining Jinchuuriki and once in a while visit the still motionless shell of the young woman. Even after a whole year, the body seemed to give off some kind of shimmer. However, nobody dared to speak that thought out aloud. It was one of those days on which not much happened; in fact: nothing at all. Most members were gone on a mission or had fled the narrowness of the hideout. Hidan and Konan had taken a few days off together which left nobody except for Pain. Somehow, he managed to keep himself busy with paperwork until the afternoon. Suddenly, he found himself with nothing to do anymore. He used to enjoy those days of silence; nobody swore or fooled around unnecessarily loud and no small argument turning into a raging fistfight. That had been the silence, the peace he had enjoyed most. Today, he didn't find anything enjoyable about the dead silence weighing on the HQ. After another hour of desperately trying to find something to work on in his office, he gave up and aggressively shut the door, almost unhinging it. Grinding his teeth, he had to admit that even the company of the two art freaks would have been to his liking today. Probably, he wouldn't be able to listen for a long time but at least he would have been able to leave HQ and walk through the woods. Since he couldn't leave their hideout unstaffed, he had no other choice than to be content with walking through the hallways, thinking about petty things. A bunch of times, his way had involuntarily lead him to that one room he did not want to think about. Each time, he had deliberately passed by it quickly. After all, the last thing he wanted was to annoy her. What did she mean with the words 'Wait for me'… Her soul had definitely left her body. He had seen it in her eyes. Still, he couldn't get rid of the feeling that he was actually waiting for her. Snorting, he shook his head at his own stupidity. As if she was going to appear in front of him this very moment and say: "Sorry that I slept in. Are you alright?" The image alone was enough to make his heart melt for a moment before falling right back into its usual rigid state. Maybe he should arrange a fire burial soon. Then, he would finally get back to his former self. Of course, he noticed that none of the members was mentioning her name whenever he was around. 'As if I would break because of something like that…' He snorted again, majorly pissed inside. Even before looking up, he knew that he was standing in front of that door again. Reluctantly, he opened it slightly to glance at her calm figure. 'What did I expect?' Suddenly, fury started to rage in him; a fury so strong that it was beyond his control. He was angry at the members for treating him with pity and thus basically looking down on him. He was angry at Hidan and Konan for being so happy together. He was angry at Shizuka for leaving him just like that without having finished their duel and without ever exchanging a single, casual word with him. He was angry at that God, Jashin, for taking her away from him. And last but not least, he was angry at himself. Why had they not been faster back then?! Why couldn't he dodge that last attack at her?! Why did she still bother him to this extent although a whole year had passed already?! Abruptly, he shoved open the door, shutting it with the same force and walked briskly towards the altar. At the beginning, his lips were still pressed together by anger but bit by bit his voice became louder. "Why weren't you more careful?! Why did you just allow them to kidnap you from your bathroom?! Aren't you the one who is usually full of herself and so strong! You could have at least made some noise for your brother to wake up. Then we could have searched for you sooner and would have definitely found you before it were too late! All of this is your fault! Ever since I set my eyes on you, nothing's working out the way I want it to! You embarrass me, break my nose, heal my members and then you just vanish! Why didn't you talk to me once?! In all those nights we sat together you never once opened your mouth! Did you really despise me that much?! Cause that's not the impression I got on your last day! FUCK!" Gesturing wildly, he had gotten caught on something sharp. Irritated, he looked at the cut in his palm. Taking a deep breath, he blinked a few times. "This God has no right to claim you for himself! I wasn't done with you after all! We were interrupted in our duel! And…" His voice became quieter. "And besides, you didn't get your ring and your cloak yet. You did pass the audition after all and belong to us. You belong with me, you understand?! Just how much longer will I have to wait for you?" He hated himself for the pleading tone in his voice but he couldn't change it. After this year, he felt lonelier than ever before. "You sure are loud…" A hoarse voice echoed through the room. Pain froze. "I think I have a talent for making you angry… Even without doing anything, it seems…" Slowly, the little voice gained strength. "Hey, how come I get the impression that the floor is a prettier sight than me? Seeing how you stare that intensely at it." It was that moment that the Leader finally dared to look up. Her emerald-green eyes shone perkily. The weak grin showed that she was far from her usual strength. "Finally." Could he trust his eyes? Or did his desire play tricks on him? Hesitantly, he reached out. Gently, his fingers touched her forehead, then her eyelashes and eventually put his hand on her cheek. Surprisingly, her skin was already warm. Intensely, he examined her eyes. After a felt eternity, Shizuka meant: "In case you are still not certain: Yes, I am looking at you." Steadily, her hand touched his cheek. "Not talking to me anymore?" She asked almost playfully. The Leader pulled himself together and replied: "Considering that just a minute ago you lay dead on the table, you sure are not at a loss of words… neither are you particularly… well… dead." At the last word, Shizuka saw pain blazing in his eyes. She loved his eyes. "Now, now, get a grip. After all, I was only gone for a day, aye? That couldn't possibly have been that bad." Her grin faltered as she noticed his confusion. "What is it?" "You are so casually talking about a day… You were gone for… a whole year. Glad it went by in a day for you." He added, pulling back his hand. Quickly, she reached for it. "Wait a second! I was only gone for a day… I am certain that I was only gone for a day. After all, Jashin threw me out and I woke up here." Amused, Pain's eyes widened. "He 'threw' you out? What did you manage to do in such a short amount of time that he already wanted to get rid of you?" She shot him an evil glare. "Yeah, yeah, you make fun of me. Wait until I get my strength back. You will lose your grin as soon as I am able to walk again." Despite the glare he heard her playful tone. Constantly, his heart jumped up and down happily. He hadn't dreamed of ever having those conversations again. "Oh right, the reason why he threw me out almost right away." She seemed to be pondering. "Apparently, he was pretty pissed that I sacrificed myself intentionally. Originally, I was to be the sacrifice of the priests but by putting my life on the line to save yours, I chose my own death hoping you would survive. I think what annoyed him the most was the fact that he actually killed me by accident." "Do not ever do that again!" The coldness in the Leader's voice frightened her. Inquiringly, she looked at him. "Never protect my life by putting yours on the line!" He emphasized. A smile crept on her face. "I am so sorry. I am sorry for making you suffer like this." And thus the ice was broken. Without big words, she had understood that he had gone through hell this past year and how much he needed her support. It dawned on her that none of the others could have helped him. 'He probably wouldn't have let them help him anyway, that pigheaded fellow.' She sat up and pulled him to her. At first, Pain didn't dare to hold her too tight, fearing he could hurt her fragile body or end the dream, he might still be in. However, when she hugged him tighter and murmured calming words, there was no holding back anymore. Neither of them knew how long they had been in that position. As they pulled back from each other, there was no trace left of the broken man. Proud as ever Pain stood before her, still with a spark of worry in his eyes. Smiling, she squeezed his hand. "Don't worry; I won't break that easily even though you might still think that." Glancing at her insulted, he turned to walk out. "Hey! Where do you think you are going? You can't just leave me here?" She yelled outrageously after him. "Oh, I can. Want me to show you?" He said without looking back at her. The rustling of cloths betrayed her intention and in the blink of an eye he was by her side, barely catching her in time. "I thought I was going to lose my grin as soon as you're back on your feet? Apparently, that's still going to take a while." He teased her. No disdain, no condescendence were engraved in his voice. "Well, it seems that I haven't eaten anything for a whole year. It's only natural for me to be a little shaky." She stuck out her tongue at him. A quick-witted retort was already on his lips as he noticed something different. "You seem to be the first Zombie with long hair." Skillfully, she ignored his insult and brushed with her fingers through her hair. He was right: her originally chin-long, blond hair had grown out until a little below her shoulder blades. "Weird…" She remarked simply. Then, she shrugged and said decisive: "To the kitchen! The lady is starving for something to chew on!" Exactly the way one would handle a little child, Pain put her on the table and replied: "First of all, we are going to get you something different to wear. Then, you can eat." Confused, she looked down. "Why? What's wrong with the Kimono? It's pretty." "I'll bring you something less provocative." He said quietly before escaping the room. Only then did she notice that she had been holding something in her hand ever since she woke up earlier. Absorbed in thought, she smelled the beautiful lily. 'One year, hmm… A long time…' And suddenly, enlightenment opened her eyes. Like a bat out of hell, she jumped up and ran after Pain. Adrenalin rushed through her, giving her legs enough energy to run and thus fortunately prevented any unwanted impacts with the walls and door frames.


	12. Chapter 11 (Final)

"Pain!" Her voice echoed through the hallway. The Leader's surprised head popped out from one of the doors. "What are you doing? You shouldn't be run…" Her wild embrace interrupted him. Too perplex to react, he held his arms up high like someone who was about to be shot. "You waited for me? You really waited a whole year for me?" Although the question didn't really need an answer in his opinion, he nodded. Then, her mind went blank. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. Just before their lips met, she stopped briefly and looked deep into his eyes. Pain, as the impatient man he was, overcame the little distance and pressed his lips passionately against hers. The cloak in his right hand fell to the floor as both of his hands wandered to her back to push her body even closer to his. When they eventually had to pull back to catch their breath, he grinned. "Your breath is really hot this time." His eyes widened as he saw her blushing and slightly turning her head. 'There really are so many sides of her, I couldn't even imagine until now.' His thoughts raced through his head. Cupping her face in his hands, he turned her towards him. Their foreheads touched and both of them drowned in each other's eyes. 'Now, we have all the time in the world…'

As soon as that sentence had crossed his mind, they heard the sound of feet running. "WHERE IS SHE?!" Hidan's voice roared in its distinctive volume through the hideout. Annoyance flashed over Pain's face and he rolled his eyes. 'Why is it that he always arrives at the wrong time?' He felt Shizuka squeezing his hand and received a gorgeous and encouraging smile from her. Warmth pulsed through his heart. The feelings she triggered in him were indescribable. Although she was standing right before his eyes, he still couldn't quite grasp the fact that she was back under the living. He didn't notice how she dragged him out into the hallway. Not even a minute later, Hidan rounded the corner and came to an abrupt halt at the sight of her. Konan, who had not expected his sudden stop, ran into him and they both stumbled to the floor. Grinning, Shizuka watched Hidan who worriedly helped Konan back up on her feet. Immediately, his eyes were fixed on her figure again. "Is it… Is it really you? How's that possible? For one year…?" Incomprehension marked his face and confused he kept pointing back and forth between her and the room she had been lying in for that one year. "I don't know what you are talking about, dear brother. I have merely been gone for a day." She said. Although her words were spoken lightly, the smile and the anticipation in her face couldn't be hidden. She ran up to him and jumped in his arms. Instinctively, he caught his sister. Now, that he held her in his arms and felt her warmth, his doubts dissolved as did his questions for now. Tears dwelled in his eyes. Tightly, he held on to her. After a few minutes, Shizuka eventually remarked: "Don't worry, I will stay here a while longer, Nii-san. For now, I would like to say hi to Konan, too." Almost reluctantly, Hidan put her down and watched as the two women fell into each other's arms. "I missed you." Konan said quietly. "I missed you, too." Shizuka replied happily. For a heartbeat, she squeezed Konan a little tighter. "Thank you, Konan. He would have never made it without you." Konan blushed. "He actually was a piece of work." She said a little louder. "What are you two talking about?" Hidan inquired suspiciously. "None of your business, Nii-san." She grinned innocently. Then, she turned to Pain and threw him an accusing look. "I am still starving." She complained. "How about you go to the kitchen and get yourself something to eat?" Pain barked back at her. "Unless I am faster and just eat everything before you have a chance to." He added, quietly smirking. While he was still turning around, Shizuka had already raced by him and was on her way to the kitchen. Out of the corner of his eye, Pain saw Hidan lifting Konan up happily. Unseen, the Leader distanced himself from the lovebirds before he dashed after Shizuka. In front of the kitchen door he came to a halt and silently tampered with the knob. His plan to surprise her, failed miserably. "The door is locked!" Her voice sounded mischievously from the inside. "Open the door!" He yelled back at her. "What if not?" She asked boldly. "Otherwise, I will have to break down the door and tell Kakuzu that it was your fault he'll have to spend money again." "That's not fair!" She replied outrageously. Pain listened to her lumbering feet and took one step back. Carefully, she pushed the door open, grinning at him. "Can you pay the toll, Sir?" Admiration mirrored in his eyes. 'How come she is so daring towards me' He thought astonished. 'Time to teach her a little respect.' Abruptly, he grabbed the door, pulling it open and closed it right behind him. "Alright, little lady, there is a toll to pay?" Trying to hide her grin, she stepped backwards until she felt the cold of the wall against her back. His hand touched her bare neck and she remembered the time she had broken his nose. Involuntarily, her right hand moved gently over his pierced nose. Trailing downwards, his hand reached her décolleté. A pleasant shiver ran through her body. Retracing his touches, he went back to her shoulder, striking her arm and stopped at her waist. Not once did his eyes waver from hers. Slowly, his face moved closer. Against her expectation, however, he put his lips next to her ear and murmured: "Weren't you supposed to wear something less provocative?" Again she shivered and her hands clasped his cloak. She couldn't withhold her reply despite her slightly woozy mind. "It was you who dropped the cloak on the floor before." For a moment, there was silence. Then he began to laugh and put his forehead to her shoulder. "You are unbelievable." He managed to say while laughing." She grinned. "Thanks for the compliment, I guess." This time, he couldn't stop himself anymore. Cupping her face in his hands, he pulled her face to his and as their lips touched, her hands wandered to his back. Passionately, they both enjoyed those few moments of being alone together. At the sound of Hidan's voice they reluctantly let go of each other. "Hey, you two! Open up, I am starving! You might as well start praying if you dared to eat everything alone!" This time it was Shizuka who sighed heavily and let go of Pain's warm body. Apparently, she didn't open the door fast enough for Hidan sent the door flying across the room. Only thanks to Shizuka's chackra shield nobody got hurt. Knowing that Kakuzu's telling-off would be far better than her own, Shizuka abdicated from going through the trouble. "Hey, Leader" Hidan turned to Pain. "Don't you dare to hurt her! If I see one fight between you two, you are a dead man, got it?" Amused, Shizuka grabbed Pain's arm and said easygoing: "Don't worry, Nii-san, for now there is a sort of armistice." She looked into Pain's eyes. "There probably will be a few arguments and there even might be a few flying objects but all in all I would say we managed to create peace, don't you think?" Right in front of her brother's big eyes and Konan's smile, the Leader kissed the young woman again. One should start with his own, personal peace before trying to make peace in the world...


End file.
